About Kakao Investment
Kakao Investment is a venture capital firm founded in 2015. It is primarily based out of Seongnam-si, South Korea. As of Feb 2019, Kakao Investment has invested in 12 companies. It primarily invests in Seed round in South Korea based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from High Tech to Blockchain Technology and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Terra Overall, Kakao Investment portfolio has seen 1 unicorn, 1 IPO and 1 acquisition, namely Lyft, Karrot and Vespring. A lot of funds co-invest with Kakao Investment, with names like SBVA sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Kakao Investment has team of 3 people.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Portfolio Acquisitions
Portfolio Unicorns
Portfolio Soonicorns
Kakao Investment's List of Top Investments
Kakao Investment has a portfolio of 12 companies, one of which is a Unicorn. Their most notable investments are in Lyft and Brunt.Their portfolio spans across South Korea, United States, Israel and 2 more locations. They have invested in High Tech, Blockchain Technology, Consumer and 12 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Kakao Investment:1. Lyft
Network facilitating on-demand transportation and ride scheduling services for individuals. It provides options for immediate rides, scheduled pickups, and various vehicle types. The network offers programs for business transportation needs. It also focuses on safety measures and community support initiatives.
Key facts about Lyft
- Founded Year: 2007
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $5.02B
- Employee Count: 3,913 as on Dec 31, 2025
- Investors: HTIF, Kaplan Group Investments and 161 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series I, Aug 06, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Public
2. Terra
Blockchain network for payments. It is an open-source blockchain payment platform for an algorithmic stablecoin, which are cryptocurrencies that automatically track the price of currencies or other assets. The platform enables users to spend, save, trade, or exchange Terra stablecoins.
Key facts about Terra
- Founded Year: 2018
- Location: Singapore (Singapore)
- Stage: Series B
- Total Funding till date: $125M
- Employee Count: 14 as on Mar 31, 2026
- Investors: Orthogonal Thinker, Lightspeed Venture Partners and 42 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series B, Jan 26, 2021, $*****
3. Karrot
Online retailer of used and new goods across multiple categories. It provides a platform for individuals to buy and sell various items. These items include electronics, furniture, clothing, and other general merchandise. The platform facilitates transactions between users for a wide array of products.
Key facts about Karrot
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Seoul (South Korea)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series D
- Total Funding till date: $205M
- Investors: Samsung NEXT, SBVA and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series D, Aug 19, 2021, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Orbs
Orbs provides infrastructure as a service for developing dApps. It uses virtual chains and randomized proof-of-stake algorithm. Claims that virtual chains optimize usage by allocating one virtual chain per app and increases speed. Also claims that it insulates dApps from the hazards on the network. The platform has built-in connectivity with Ethereum blockchain.
Key facts about Orbs
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Tel Aviv (Israel)
- Stage: Series A
- Total Funding till date: $15.4M
- Employee Count: 44 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: VestChain Capital, Outlier Ventures and 3 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series A, Dec 13, 2018, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Lovo AI
Lova offers an online platform that enables users to generate a human-like voice using AI. The platform converts the scripts into ads, audiobooks, e-learning materials, characters for games & apps, and more. The company also provides voice preservation solutions for people who have been affected by ALS. Users have to record their audios at the studio and data scientists work on training the voice through AI. The users can then get a subscription to this voice.
Key facts about Lovo AI
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Berkeley (United States)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $6.5M
- Employee Count: 17 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: LG CNS, Goodwater Capital and 15 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Apr 07, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Kakao Investment's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Kakao Investment has invested in 14 companies over the last 10 years, with an average of 1 new investment annually in the last 10 years. Its most recent first time investment was in Terra.Kakao Investment's Investments by Stage
Kakao Investment has made 3 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $1.39M, 2 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $10.3M and 1 investment in Series H stage with an average round size of $3.18M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 3 |
Series A | 2 |
Series H | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Kakao Investment's Investments by Sector
Kakao Investment has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Blockchain Technology, High Tech, Blockchain - Industry Applications, Consumer and FinTech. Notably, it has invested in 10 Tech companies, 6 Consumer (B2C) companies, 6 Enterprise (B2B) companies and at least 4 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Blockchain Technology | 3 |
High Tech | 3 |
Blockchain - Industry Applications | 2 |
Consumer | 2 |
FinTech | 2 |
Others | 7 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Kakao Investment's Investments by Geography
Kakao Investment has made most investments in South Korea (2), followed by Israel where it has made 1 investment.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
South Korea | 2 |
Israel | 1 |
Philippines | 1 |
Singapore | 1 |
United States | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Kakao Investment's recent investments
Kakao Investment has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Kakao Investment:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 28, 2019 | Singapore | Seed | 3843 | ||
Dec 13, 2018 | Israel | Series A | 4566 | - | |
Apr 24, 2018 | South Korea | Series A | 9497 | [+2] | |
Apr 04, 2018 | United States | Series H | 4208 | - | |
Mar 26, 2018 | South Korea | Seed | 9090 | [+1] |
Unicorns in Kakao Investment's Portfolio
Kakao Investment has 1 unicorn in its portfolio - Karrot. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Karrot which became a unicorn in 2021, 3 years after Kakao Investment first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Kakao Investment's portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
66 | Online retailer of used and new goods across multiple categories | 2015 | Seoul | Series D | hm{{vpi |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Kakao Investment's Portfolio
1 of Kakao Investment's portfolio company became public - Lyft. It got listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA), in Mar 2019 at marketcap of $8.42BHere are Kakao Investment's portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 29, 2019 | Apr 04, 2018 | Series H | 5812 |
Acquired companies in Kakao Investment's Portfolio
1 company from Kakao Investment's portfolio has been acquired. The most recent acquisition were Vespring in Jun 2021 by SLL.Here are Kakao Investment's portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 01, 2021 | - | - | 9985 |
Team profile of Kakao Investment
Kakao Investment has a team of 3 members including 3 Principals located in South Korea. Kakao Investment's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Kakao Investment:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Principal | South Korea | - | - | |
Principal | Seoul | - | - | |
Principal | South Korea | - | - |
Co-investors of Kakao Investment
Over the past 10 years, 74 investors have co-invested in Kakao Investment's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Kakao Investment: Kingdom Holding Company, General Motors and 48 others have invested in rounds before Kakao Investment. There is 1 company where Kingdom Holding Company has invested before Kakao Investment and 1 company where General Motors has invested before Kakao Investment.
- Top Co-investors of Kakao Investment: 4 investors entered a company along with Kakao Investment. These include investors like SBVA (1 company).
- Invested after Kakao Investment: A total of 20 investors have invested in Kakao Investment's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Artha India Ventures (1 company), Senator Investment Group (1 company) and StraightPath Venture Partners (1 company).
Recent News related to Kakao Investment
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H2O Hospitality secures $30M Series C to expedite hotel digital transformationTechCrunch+•Sep 07, 2021•H2O Hospitality, Kakao Investment, Korea Development Bank Europe, Gorilla Private Equity and 10 others
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Indonesian capsule hotel startup Bobobox bags $11.5 million Series A fundingChina Travel News•May 21, 2020•Bobobox, Bobobox, Horizons Ventures, Alpha JWC Ventures and 5 others
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Kakao Investment To Acquire Cosmochain’s Blockchain-Based FitsMe ServiceBlock Tribune•Jul 08, 2019•Kakao Investment, Rakuten Fits Me
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South Korea's Kakao invests in Israeli blockchain firm OrbsReuters•Dec 13, 2018•Orbs, Kakao Investment, Kakao
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Kakao Ventures, Naver Invest 1.5 Billion Won in Smart Home Platform 'Brunt'Businesskorea•Mar 27, 2018•Brunt, Naver, Kakao Investment, Kakao Ventures
