About Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul, South Korea
The Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul, South Korea comprises 946 companies, including 319 funded companies having collectively raised $1.54B in venture capital money and private equity. Out of these, 115 are Series A+ funded, and 2 have achieved unicorn status.
Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul, South Korea has seen 24 acquisitions and 44 IPOs. This represents almost 7.2% of all such companies - which is higher than the 4.5% exit rate of tech companies in general.
This sector includes companies engaged in the production and distribution of media such as movies, TV, music, and games, including platforms that help people interact with one another.
Media & Entertainment sector is also known as MediaTech or Entertainment Tech.
It includes companies providing tech solutions to the stakeholders involved in the production and distribution of various forms of media like movies, TV, music, games etc. It also includes platforms that help people interact with one another. It excludes companies that provide industry agnostic solutions.
Top Media & Entertainment Companies in Seoul, South Korea
There are 946 Media & Entertainment startups in Seoul, South Korea which include Tving, Viki, Catenoid, Watcha, Dable. Out of these, 319 startups are funded, with 115 having secured Series A+ funding, and 2 achieving unicorn status.
2026 has seen the creation of 2 Media & Entertainment startups in Seoul, South Korea. Over the past 10 years, an average of 43 new companies have been launched annually. Notably, several of these startups have been founded by alumni of Harvard University, Stanford University and Stanford Business School.
Here is the list of top Media & Entertainment startups in Seoul, South Korea
1. Tving
Tving is a live and on-demand video streaming platform. It offers content in the Korean language. Video categories include TV shows, movies, short films, fashion, magazines, baseball, and other live sporting events.
Key facts about Tving
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $312M
- Investors: NAVER and JC Gross Investment
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Feb 03, 2022, $*****
- Tracxn Score: 67/100 What is this?
- Competitors Rank: 12 of 2,810 Competitors
2. Viki
Viki is a video streaming platform that allows users to discover, watch, and subtitle global primetime shows and movies in multiple languages. The content is offered in multiple languages such as Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese and the same is subtitled via crowd-sourced translation done by subscribers, under a license, using the technology of the company. Apart from the subtitling for language translation, users can also put up timed comments, funny and irreverent real-time subtitles that scroll across the screen, commenting on the action. The platform is compatible with the web, Android, and iOS devices.
Key facts about Viki
- Founded Year: 2010
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $24.3M
- Investors: SK Planet, BBC Worldwide and 11 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Oct 21, 2011, $*****
- Tracxn Score: 64/100 What is this?
- Competitors Rank: 20 of 2,810 Competitors
3. Catenoid
Digital platform providing video streaming, player, management, analytics, and commerce platforms. It delivers solutions for video streaming, including video players with interactive features. It offers service operation consoles, content delivery network management, and service analytics reporting. It provides media asset management platforms, video workflow systems, and video distribution management. It also delivers video commerce platforms, including live commerce, short form commerce, and T-commerce.
Key facts about Catenoid
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $20.3M
- Investors: DTCP, NHN Investment and 6 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Mar 12, 2021, $*****
- Tracxn Score: 64/100 What is this?
- Competitors Rank: 9 of 802 Competitors
4. Watcha
Platform offering movies and series recommendation solutions. It is an online platform that allows users to search and stream movies, dramas, shows, documentaries, and animations. It provides recommendations based on ratings and reviews. Users can search, stream, rate, create playlists, share reviews, and comments. It is available for Android and iOS devices. It allows to generates revenue through subscriptions and advertisements.
Key facts about Watcha
- Founded Year: 2011
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $21M
- Investors: Shinhan Venture Investment, M&G and 16 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Apr 02, 2018, $*****
- Tracxn Score: 63/100 What is this?
- Competitors Rank: 11 of 503 Competitors
5. Dable
Dable is a personalized content discovery platform which offers news & product discovery services. Dable News, a news aggregator which partners with media companies and offers personalized content to users. Claims to use machine learning techniques to recommend results. Provides dashboards for partners to see the results in real-time & change settings.
Key facts about Dable
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Stage: Acquired
- Total Funding till date: $20.5M
- Investors: SV Investment, NHN and 9 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jan 12, 2021, $*****
- Tracxn Score: 62/100 What is this?
- Competitors Rank: 1 of 46 Competitors
Companies founded year-on-year in the Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul
2 new startups have been founded so far in 2026 in the Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul. 85 Media & Entertainment startups in Seoul were founded in 2020 - this is the most number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.
- Total Number of Companies
Year | No. of companies |
|---|---|
2026 | 2 |
2025 | 6 |
2024 | 18 |
2023 | 34 |
2022 | 41 |
2021 | 70 |
2020 | 85 |
2019 | 60 |
2018 | 76 |
2017 | 41 |
Stage-wise distribution of Media & Entertainment sector companies in Seoul
Out of the total 946 Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul, 319 have secured funding. Among them, 115 have reached Series A or higher, and 90 to Series B or beyond.
Founded - 946
Funded - 319
Series A+ - 115
Series B+ - 90
Series C+ - 81
Company Stage | No. of companies |
|---|---|
Founded | 946 |
Funded | 319 |
Series A+ | 115 |
Series B+ | 90 |
Series C+ | 81 |
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Funding Trends in the Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul
Total funding year-on-year in the Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul
The Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul saw a total funding of more than $1.32B in the last 10 years. The most amount of funding was in 2022 at more than $609M. There has been a total funding of $11.7M in 2026 till date.
- Total Funding
Year | Total Funding |
|---|---|
2026 | $11.7M |
2025 | $59.7M |
2024 | $122M |
2023 | $93.2M |
2022 | $609M |
2021 | $146M |
2020 | $26M |
2019 | $110M |
2018 | $54.7M |
2017 | $89.2M |
Recent Funding Rounds in Media & Entertainment in Seoul
In the year 2026, till July 2026, Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul have raised $11.7M in equity funding across 9 rounds.
In the same period last year (i.e. till April 2025), Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul had raised $29M across 2 rounds.
So, 2026 has seen a 59.69% drop in funding in Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul as compared to 2025.
Here are some recent, important funding rounds in Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul:
Company | Round Raised | Amount Raised | Funding Date | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seed | 8085 | Jul 01, 2026 | and 1 more | |
Seed | 8235 | Jun 01, 2026 | ||
Seed | 1633 | May 14, 2026 | ||
Seed | 7754 | Apr 21, 2026 | ||
Seed | 5689 | Mar 09, 2026 |
Top Investors in Media & Entertainment in Seoul
IDG Capital is the top investor in Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul based on number of companies invested.
Here are some top investors in Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul:
Investor | Location | Top Portfolio Companies |
|---|---|---|
Hong Kong (China) | - | |
Sunnyvale (United States) | - | |
Seoul (South Korea) | ||
Tokyo (Japan) | - | |
Menlo Park (United States) | - |
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M&A activity in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul
In the year 2026, till May 2026, 2 acquisitions happened in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul.
Here are some recent, important acquisitions in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul:
Company | Acquisition Type | Acquisition Date | Acquirers |
|---|---|---|---|
Business Acquisition | May 07, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Jan 26, 2026 | ||
Business Acquisition | Sep 20, 2024 | ||
Business Acquisition | Feb 14, 2023 | - | |
Business Acquisition | Feb 07, 2023 | - |
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Acquisition trends in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul
Here are the acquisition trends in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul:
- Total Number of Acquisitions
Year | No. of companies |
|---|---|
2026 | 2 |
2025 | - |
2024 | 1 |
2023 | 2 |
2022 | 6 |
2021 | 3 |
2020 | 2 |
2019 | 1 |
2018 | 1 |
2017 | 1 |
IPOs in Media & Entertainment in Seoul
In the year 2023, till August 2023, 2 IPOs happened in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul.
Here are some recent, important IPOs in Media & Entertainment sector in Seoul:
Company | IPO Date | Exchange Symbol |
|---|---|---|
Aug 17, 2023 | Korea Exchange (KRX) | |
Jul 27, 2023 | Korea Exchange (KRX) | |
Dec 06, 2022 | Korea Exchange (KRX) | |
Apr 28, 2022 | Korea Exchange (KRX) | |
Dec 30, 2021 | Korea Exchange (KRX) |
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Colleges which produce the most Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul
Companies founded by alumni from top colleges in the Media & Entertainment in Seoul
Most number of Media & Entertainment startups in Seoul have been founded by alumni from Harvard University, Stanford University and Stanford Business School.
College | No. of companies |
|---|---|
Harvard University | 4 |
Stanford University | 4 |
Stanford Business School | 3 |
Cornell University | 2 |
University of California (Berkeley) | 2 |
Yonsei University | 2 |
Columbia University | 1 |
Harvard Business School | 1 |
IIT Delhi | 1 |
London School of Economics and Political Science | 1 |
Total funding in Media & Entertainment companies founded by alumni from top colleges in Seoul
In the last 10 years, Harvard University, Stanford Business School and Stanford University graduates' Media & Entertainment companies in Seoul have raised the most funding among top colleges.
College | Total Funding |
|---|---|
Harvard University | $25.8M |
Stanford Business School | $25.8M |
Stanford University | $25.8M |
Columbia University | $10.1M |
Yonsei University | $920K |
Cornell University | - |
Harvard Business School | - |
IIT Delhi | - |
London School of Economics and Political Science | - |
University of California (Berkeley) | - |
Top News in Media & Entertainment in Seoul
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Upstage, FuriosaAI, and Daum Partner for Sovereign AI Search FeatureThe Korea Times•Jul 15, 2026•Daum, Upstage
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Dable launches AI chatbot 'AI-ble' for in-article reader engagementKorea Newswire•May 12, 2026•Dable
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RBW's strategic shift and expansion to become K-pop's next major playerThe Korea Times•May 05, 2026•Blitzdistribution, WM Entertainment
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ENHYPEN’s Heeseung rebrands as EVAN after exit, unveils raw new identityThe Korea Times•Apr 09, 2026•BELIFT LAB
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BoA ends historic chapter with SM Entertainment after 25 yearsThe Korea Times•Jan 13, 2026•SM Entertainment
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CJ CheilJedang accelerates the commercialization of biodegradable PHA materialsmk.co.kr•Nov 28, 2025•LinkedIn, PBS, The Chosun Ilbo, and 1 other
