Tae Sung Kim, CEO of Caring
Caring(케어링), the caregiving startup, has raised $30 million (KRW 40 billion) in Series B funding. This brings Caring’s cumulative investment to $56.3 million (KRW 7.5 billion). This is the largest cumulative investment for any care services startup in Korea.
The round was led by SV Investment, with new participation from KDB Bank, IMM Investment and EUGENE Asset Management. Existing investors LB Investment, Hyundai Investment Partners, Quantum Ventures Korea and ARK Impact Asset Management also made follow-on investments.
With this investment, Caring will focus on building the infrastructure for integrated home care services promoted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The integrated home care services are characterised by a variety of services provided by the Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly, such as day and night care, visiting care, bathing, nursing care and respite care, which can be provided in the area where the recipient lives.
Established in 2019, Caring provides all services required for elderly care, including long-term care (visiting care, day and night care, visiting bathing, visiting nursing), commerce (welfare goods, joint purchasing, PB product sales), elderly housing (elderly housing operation) and caregiver training centres.
As of January 2024, Caring had 42,000 caregivers and a total of about 12,000 service users, holding the leading market share in Korea. Caring operates a total of 34 direct branches, including 14 visiting and daycare centres, 4 caregiver training centres and 2 welfare equipment centres in Seoul and the capital region, as well as Busan, Gyeongnam, Daegu and Gwangju, where professional social workers provide comprehensive services to the elderly in need of care. Caring plans to build more than 100 care facilities in the future.
Caring is also accelerating the diversification of its business with the launch of its own private brand (PB) products last month, the announcement of the expansion of its commercial business, and the construction of more than 1,000 units of large-scale retirement housing based on a combination of retirement housing and nursing homes.
Ju-Wan Jung, Executive Director and Seongmin Lee, Investment Manager at SV Investment, said: “The global long-term care insurance market is worth $9.8 billion (KRW 13 trillion) and is expected to reach over $15 billion (KRW 20 trillion) in 5 years. Caring has become a dominant player in the high-growth market based on digital-based operational optimisation and differentiated services, and through this investment, we expect to create a super gap by building a solid care infrastructure across the country.”
Tae Sung Kim, CEO of Caring, said, “By building a nationwide care infrastructure, we will transform the market so that seniors can receive the care they want, where they want it.” “With our expertise in operating optimised care services and years of experience in senior care, we will become a total senior lifestyle company, encompassing mobility, dining, healthcare, housing and commerce.”
Caring has raised $22.5 million (KRW3 billion) in Series A funding in just two years since its inception and has also been provisionally designated as a social enterprise by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2021. Caring has built an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and used the savings from streamlining operations to improve the treatment of caregivers, offer the highest hourly wages in the industry, support professional training, and operate various welfare systems, creating a virtuous cycle.
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