Early-stage startup investor MY Social Company(MYSC, 엠와이소셜컴퍼니) made a total of 47 investments in 45 startups in 2023, worth approximately $9.8 million (KRW 1.3 billion). 15 investments (31.9%) were made in local companies, 4 investments (8.5%) in overseas companies, 29 investments (61.7%) in early-stage startups (less than three years old), and 8 investments (17.0%) in follow-on investments.
Compared to the previous year’s performance in 2022, when a total of 35 investments were made in 34 startups for $7 million (KRW 9.3 billion), the amount invested increased by approximately 40% and the number of investments increased by 17%. This brings MYSC’s investment portfolio to over 160 companies. With the establishment of 4 new investment funds totalling $11 million (KRW 14.5 billion) in 2023, MYSC’s assets under management (AUM), including the main account, exceeded $48.9 million (KRW 6.5 billion).
Last year, MYSC, which also operates TIPS (private investment-led technology start-up support) and LIPS (private investment-linked matching loans), invested in Changtalk (developing an alternative credit score model for small businesses), ARTWA (developing autonomous robots to optimise crop harvesting) and PitterPetter (developing a biometric age estimation test for pets), REVISONARY (development of a fashion platform for ESG measurement and process standardisation in the textile industry), ConstactsKorea (development of reputation prediction technology and career recruitment platform) and VPPlab (VPP platform service based on wind power forecasting) as Deep Tech TIPS, achieving a total of 6 TIPS recommendations. Through LIPS (Private Investment Linked Matching Loan), a total of 20 companies were matched with $6.3 million (KRW 8,399).
In 2023, 9 companies (19.1%) were in the environment/energy sector, followed by 4 companies (8.5%) in finance/fintech/insurance, 4 companies (8.5%) in food/agriculture, 4 companies (8.5%) in real estate/construction, and 4 companies (8.5%) in manufacturing/hardware. Other investments were made in blockchain/AI for 3 companies, mobility/transport for 3 companies, social media/commerce for 3 companies, logistics/distribution for 2 companies, travel/leisure for 2 companies, fashion/beauty for 2 companies, education/training for 2 companies, healthcare/bio for 2 companies, home living/pet for 1 company, and arts and culture for 1 company.
Jeong Tae Kim, CEO of MYSC, said, “The three major challenges facing the world – social polarisation, economic inequality and the climate crisis – are both a crisis and an opportunity for innovation in industry and society,” adding, “In 2023, we made our largest annual investment to help innovative entrepreneurs and startup teams raise capital quickly. We are preparing for a similar investment size and execution in 2024.
On the other hand, MYSC, founded in 2011, is the largest accelerator with 70 employees, and its strengths include open innovation with large companies after initial seed investment; support for overseas expansion in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States; connecting resources and mixed financing through themed acceleration programmes; and increasing company value and attracting follow-on investment through deep value creation, such as sustainability management consulting like B Corp.
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