Naver
NFT avatar enabler GoodGang has the blessings of Korean giants Kakao and Naver
Critics have long discredited non-fungible tokens as overpriced JPEGs sold by people who want to make quick bucks. NFT believers want to prove them wrong and show that these certificates of digital ar
Reselling marketplace Kream’s valuation rises to $742M with $168M Series C
Kream, a luxury resale platform owned by Naver, has closed a $168 million Series C round at a valuation of $742M.
Wallapop, the circular marketplace out of Spain, raised $87M more at a $832M valuation led by Korea’s Naver
Wallapop — a peer-to-peer marketplace based out of Barcelona that made a splash at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic with consumers who were looking for more localized, less wasteful, and more ecofr
Korean internet giant Naver eyes North America, Europe as it grows its C2C marketplace business
Naver is using its acquisition of Poshmark to expand in North America and Europe as it grows its consumer-to-consumer marketplace business.
Shares of Korean internet giant Kakao slide after fire disrupts service
The stock price of South Korea’s internet giant Kakao tumbled on Monday after a fire at a data center that cut off power on Saturday, causing several service malfunctions. The blaze at the SK C&
3 takeaways from the Poshmark-Naver deal
Let's chat through the Naver-Poshmark deal's numbers and consider how the late-2022 M&A market differs from that of mid-2021.
Naver agrees to acquire fashion marketplace Poshmark for $1.2B
Naver, the South Korean search giant, today announced it plans to acquire secondhand apparel marketplace Poshmark for $1.2 billion in cash. The deal values publicly traded Poshmark’s shares at $
Korean internet giant Naver backs e-commerce aggregator New Vessel in seed round
According to eMarketer, Japan and Korea’s e-commerce markets were estimated at $144 billion and $121 billion, respectively, in 2021. Despite the large e-commerce market size, both countries have fe
3D social network BUD raises $15M in Series A+ round
Investors are justling to find the next killer app for the metaverse. BUD, an app that allows users to create their customizable 3D experiences and interact with others, said today it has landed $15 m
South Korea’s Naver Z launches $100M fund for metaverse creators
South Korean internet conglomerate Naver Group continues to ride the hottest internet trends targeting young users. It has been the name behind messaging giant Line and popular selfie app Snow. And no
With new owner Naver, Wattpad looks to supercharge its user-generated IP factory
Toronto-based Wattpad is officially part of South Korean internet giant Naver as of today, with the official close of the $600 million cash and stock acquisition deal. Under the terms of the acquisiti
Spain’s Wallapop raises $191M at an $840M valuation for its classifieds marketplace
Through all of the last year’s lockdowns, venue closures and other social distancing measures that governments have enacted and people have followed to slow the spread of COVID-19, shopping R
Wattpad, the storytelling platform, is selling to South Korea’s Naver for $600 million
Wattpad, the 14-year-old, Toronto-based, venture-backed storytelling platform with reach into a number of verticals, is being acquired by Naver, the South Korean conglomerate, in a $600 million cash-a
Payments app True Balance raises $28 million to reach more underbanked users in India
True Balance, a South Korean startup which runs an eponymous financial services app aimed at tens of millions of users in small cities and towns in India, said on Wednesday it has raised $28 million i
Snow’s avatar app Zepeto registers 150M users, eyes China market
Some of you may recall the South Korean app Zepeto that went viral among Gen Z users a year and a half ago. The app, which renders selfies into animated avatars and lets people adorn their computer-ge
Yahoo Japan and Line Corp. confirm merger agreement
SoftBank Corp. announced today that it has reached an agreement to merge with Z Holdings (the SoftBank subsidiary formerly known as Yahoo Japan) and Line Corp., in a move they hope will better positio
Resurgent HappyFresh raises $20M for its online grocery service in Southeast Asia
It’s been a tricky past few years for HappyFresh, the startup seeking to bring Instacart-like grocery deliveries to Southeast Asia. It has been through a series of rebuilding measures, but there
Indonesian e-commerce unicorn Bukalapak raises $50M
Chances are you may be familiar with Tokopedia, especially after it commanded a $7 billion valuation last November when it raised $1.1 billion from investors like Alibaba and SoftBank’s Vision F
Snap is being probed over its IPO because some investors are salty about losing money
Here’s something I didn’t expect to read today. The U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed Snap for details on its IPO apparently in connection with
Korea’s Naver backs Southeast Asia-based e-commerce startup iPrice
iPrice, an e-commerce aggregation service in Southeast Asia, has landed a strategic investment from Naver — the Korean internet giant that’s valued at over $21 billion — as part of a