[Korean Startup Weekly News #112] Rebellions Raises $424M in Pre-IPO Round as First Direct Investment Under National Growth Fund – WOWTALE

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Catch up on last week’s top stories from the startup ecosystem in the Korean Startup Weekly News. 

Headline

Rebellions Raises $424M in Pre-IPO Round as First Direct Investment Under National Growth Fund
Korean AI chip startup Rebellions raises $424M in pre-IPO round — the first direct investment under South Korea’s National Growth Fund. Valuation hits $2.25B.

Korean Government

Korea and France Mark a Decade of Startup Ties — With Bigger Plans Ahead
La French Tech Seoul turns 10 — Korea & France move from networking to building together, eyeing COMEUP-VivaTech ties and deeper startup collaboration. 

Check out the latest funding news for Korean startups 

Meissa Secures Fresh Funding from TIMEFOLIO, Bringing Total Raised to $24.6M to Advance Full-Spatial Digital Twin Platform
Korean spatial AI startup Meissa has raised a cumulative $24.6M, with new backing from hedge fund giant TIMEFOLIO Asset Management. Targeting a 2026 IPO.

Mediwhale Secures $13.3M Series C to Expand Retinal AI Cardiovascular Software-Eyes 2027 KOSDAQ Listing
Korean medical AI startup Mediwhale raises $13.3M (20B KRW) Series C led by Premier Partners to accelerate US FDA clearance for its retinal AI-based cardiovascular risk prediction software.

Memebox Raises $10M Growth Round from ASQ Fund to Expand US Operations and Scale Brand Marketing
Korean K-beauty startup Memebox (MBX) raises $10M growth round from ASQ Fund, co-founded by Noom’s Saeju Jeong & Sendbird’s Dong Shin Kim. 65% of revenue already from the US.

V1C Raises $8.8M Pre-Series A to Scale AI-Powered Financial Management Platform
Korean B2B fintech startup V1C raises $8.8M pre-Series A, led by Bass Ventures & DSC Investment. Its Clobe AI platform has 10K+ corporate users in just 18 months.

IVWORKS Raises $4M in Pre-IPO to Scale Power Semiconductor Materials Production for AI Server and Defense Markets
IVWORKS, a Korean power semiconductor materials startup, closes ~$4M pre-IPO round led by existing investors. Proceeds target AI server & defense production scale-up. KOSDAQ IPO in progress.

WARP SPACE Raises $2.85M Series A to Advance AI Character Chat Platform ‘Caveduck’
Korean AI character chat startup WARP SPACE raised $2.85M Series A for Caveduck, a platform with 1M+ users and 60%+ international audience.

CROSSPOINT Therapeutics Raises $2.4M Pre-Series A to Advance Stealth-Body Antibody Platform
Korean biotech CROSSPOINT Therapeutics raises $2.38M Pre-A to advance its Stealth-Body antibody platform, cutting ADC & immuno-oncology side effects. KUDOS Ventures & Soo Investment Capital led the round. 

RAPEECH Raises $995K to Advance Next-Gen Conversational AI Solutions Through the Convergence of AI and NI
Korean conversational AI startup RAPEECH raises ~$995K, bringing total funding to ~$5M. The company merges AI with network infrastructure to deliver end-to-end AICC solutions.

Meet startups that are striving for global expansion through exclusive interviews

[Korean Startup Interview] UBITAS Biotech: Pioneering Next-Generation Protein Degradation Technology to Transform Cancer Treatment
UBITAS Biotech is pioneering Protea-Tac, a first-in-class protein degradation platform that eliminates disease-causing proteins without ubiquitin, achieving proven anti-cancer results.

[Korean Startup Interview] BioArchers: Revolutionizing Oral Drug Delivery with NanoLink™ Platform Technology
BioArchers develops NanoLink™, an oral drug delivery platform using mesoporous silica nanoparticles to transform injectable peptide drugs like GLP-1 into once-weekly oral treatments with dramatically improved bioavailability.