About K-Startup Grand Challenge
K-Startup Grand Challenge, an accelerator and incubator program founded in 2016, is based in Seongnam-si, South Korea. With a presence in 48 countries, it has supported around 263 startups in sectors like Enterprise Applications, High Tech. As of Apr 2026, K-Startup Grand Challenge has witnessed 16 portfolio exits. Most notable companies in
its portfolio include igloohome, Bear Robotics and Preply. The program is backed by a team of 2 people who primarily support Grant (prize money) startups based in United States. Its latest investment was a Undisclosed Grant (prize money) round in Nao Now on Nov 14, 2022.
Key Metrics
Founded Year
2016
Location
Seongnam-si, South Korea
Portfolio Companies
Sectors of Investment
Stages of Investment
Grant (prize money) & Seed
Locations of Investment
K-Startup Grand Challenge's List of Top Investments
K-Startup Grand Challenge has a portfolio of 263 companies. Their most notable investments are in Findster and NSS Water.Their portfolio spans across United States, Singapore, India and 45 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, High Tech, Consumer and 31 other sectors, across stages such as Grant (prize money), Seed stages. Here is the list of top investments by K-Startup Grand Challenge:1. igloohome
Developer of keyless smart locks for both consumer and commercial applications. Its first offering is called Smart Keybox that can be unlocked with a PIN with Bluetooth. It also allows setting the starting day, time, and duration for which the code or key will work and unlocking the shackle with supplied physical keys.
Key facts about igloohome
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Annual Revenue: 14.7M SGD as on Dec 31, 2023
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $20.3M
- Investors: Innoven Capital, PT Prasetia Dwidharma and 20 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, May 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Provider of AI-powered delivery robots for restaurants. It developed an AI-based small, pedestal-shaped robot that can autonomously shuttle food from the kitchen out to tables and bring dirty dishes back for cleaning. The users have to program the location of each table, chair, or any other obstacle to direct the robot to the table that is waiting for its food. It also rents out robots to restaurants in a labor-as-a-service business model.
Key facts about Bear Robotics
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $175M
- Employee Count: 166 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: IMM Holdings, SoftBank and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Mar 12, 2024, $*****
- Highlight: Acquired
3. Preply
Platform connects language learners with online tutors for personalized lessons. It facilitates language acquisition through one-on-one online tutoring. The platform enables students to find tutors based on their needs and preferences. It offers a virtual environment for language practice and instruction. The platform also provides corporate language training, offering businesses personalized language learning with online tutors.
Key facts about Preply
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Brookline (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $171M
- Employee Count: 201 - 500 as on Jul 16, 2025
- Investors: Owl Ventures, Techmind and 34 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Jul 19, 2023, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Jugnoo
App-based platform for booking auto-rickshaw transportation servcies. Users can book rides by providing location, destination, user details, payment details, and more. App is available for iOS and Android devices.
Key facts about Jugnoo
- Founded Year: 2014
- Location: Chandigarh (India)
- Annual Revenue: ₹16.2Cr as on Mar 31, 2024
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $16.9M
- Employee Count: 93 as on Aug 31, 2025
- Investors: Rocketship, Snow Leopard Ventures and 46 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), 2017, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. MishiPay
Provider of mobile self-checkout solution for consumers. The shoppers need to register on the application and can scan the barcodes on items to get product information like pictures, size, price, and other insights about the product. The application is available on both iOS and Android platforms
Key facts about MishiPay
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: London (United Kingdom)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $17.2M
- Employee Count: 23 as on Jun 30, 2021
- Investors: American Express Ventures, Nauta Capital and 29 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Sep 11, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
K-Startup Grand Challenge's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
K-Startup Grand Challenge has invested in 263 companies over the last 10 years, with an average of 26 new investments annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in Nao Now.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
2021 | 29 | 0 | 29 |
2020 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
2019 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
2018 | 68 | 0 | 68 |
2017 | 50 | 0 | 50 |
K-Startup Grand Challenge's Investments by Stage
K-Startup Grand Challenge has made 260 investments in Grant (prize money) stage with an average round size of $67.9K and 2 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $860K.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Grant (prize money) | 260 |
Seed | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
K-Startup Grand Challenge's Investments by Sector
K-Startup Grand Challenge has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, Consumer, High Tech, Retail and Sustainability Tech. Notably, it has invested in 206 Tech companies, 143 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 117 Software companies and at least 98 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 89 |
Consumer | 60 |
High Tech | 52 |
Retail | 33 |
Sustainability Tech | 29 |
Others | 324 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
K-Startup Grand Challenge's Investments by Geography
K-Startup Grand Challenge has made most investments in United States (47), followed by Singapore where it has made 28 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
United States | 47 |
Singapore | 28 |
India | 24 |
United Kingdom | 20 |
South Korea | 13 |
Others | 128 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
K-Startup Grand Challenge's recent investments
K-Startup Grand Challenge has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by K-Startup Grand Challenge:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 14, 2022 | United States | Grant (prize money) | 9089 | - | |
Nov 14, 2022 | Singapore | Grant (prize money) | 8096 | - | |
2022 | Brazil | Grant (prize money) | 7980 | - | |
2022 | India | Grant (prize money) | 7098 | - | |
2022 | China | Grant (prize money) | 5587 | - |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in K-Startup Grand Challenge's Portfolio
2 of K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio companies have become public.Here are K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
- | 2018 | Grant (prize money) | 1098 | |
- | 2018 | Grant (prize money) | 9962 |
Acquired companies in K-Startup Grand Challenge's Portfolio
14 companies from K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition were Bear Robotics in Jan 2025 by LG.Here are K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 24, 2025 | 2017 | Grant (prize money) | 6658 | |
Nov 19, 2024 | 2017 | Grant (prize money) | 6310 | |
Nov 04, 2024 | 2018 | Grant (prize money) | 8341 | |
Jun 01, 2023 | 2016 | Grant (prize money) | 4273 | |
Mar 30, 2022 | 2018 | Grant (prize money) | 8961 |
_1556017979503.png?devicePixelRatio=2&height=20&width=20){kind=logo}
Team profile of K-Startup Grand Challenge
K-Startup Grand Challenge has a team of 2 members including 2 Partners. K-Startup Grand Challenge's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Co-investors of K-Startup Grand Challenge
Over the past 10 years, 725 investors have co-invested in K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before K-Startup Grand Challenge: Europa, EIC Fund and 292 others have invested in rounds before K-Startup Grand Challenge. There are 9 companies where Europa has invested before K-Startup Grand Challenge and 5 companies where EIC Fund has invested before K-Startup Grand Challenge.
- Top Co-investors of K-Startup Grand Challenge: 8 investors entered a company along with K-Startup Grand Challenge. These include investors like HAX (1 company).
- Invested after K-Startup Grand Challenge: A total of 423 investors have invested in K-Startup Grand Challenge's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Europa (6 companies) and MassChallenge (5 companies).
