Top 10 Accelerators Driving Innovation in South Korea

​Do you need a funding from South Korean accelerators or contact them for some reasons? The meaning of startup accelerator means that it helps startup as fast as like stepping on a car accel.

If you are looking for Korean accelerators, these top 10 Korean accelerators are you should firstly consider.

South Korea is one of the leading nations in IT industry, so there are numerous startups and accelerators and related programs. An accelerator program is a mentorship-driven program that helps startups grow and develop their business. 

The following is a list of the top 10 accelerators of South Korea.

​1. Primer(Funding Size : Thousands~Millions of dollars)

It is no exaggeration to say that Primer is the most famous and authoritative place in Korea. It has good portfolios and is also sweeping the championship in various competitions. It is no exaggeration to say that companies applying for accelerator programs consider this accelerator first.

2. SparkLabs(Funding Size : Thousands~Millions of dollars)

SparkLabs, along with Primer, is one of the two major leading accelerators in the Korean accelerator indurstry. SparkLabs is a global accelerator company that provides mentorship, office space, and investment opportunities to startups.

​This program has a strong network of mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs who can provide valuable guidance and support to participating startups. SparkLabs focuses on early-stage startups in various industries, including fintech, AI, healthcare and more.

3. Bluepoint Partners(Funding Size : Millions of dollars) ​

BluePoint Partners have been making the most aggressive moves recently. Bluepoint Partners is an accelerator program that invests in deep-tech based start-ups. It will be the first Korean accelerator to be listed on the stock market in March 2023.

​Until last year, it invested in 276 startups and was recently selected as an initial investment fund operator. So it feels like a venture capital than an accelerator nowadays.

4. Mashup Angels(Funding Size : Millions of dollars)

Mashup Angels is an accelerator that has been showing a scary presence for the past 3~4 years. For reference, start-ups with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) are preferred in the very early stages. The size of the investment requires around 10% of the company's stake, and the amount of investment is large.

​Mashup Angels is expected that its influence will continue to increase in the future due to its good image and good compositional manpower.

5. FuturePlay(Funding Size : Millions of dollars)

FuturePlay is an accelerator that focuses on start-ups in the AI, blockchain and IoT industries. The program provides mentorship, offline space, and networkings to help start-ups grow their businesses.

​Recently, Chatbot startup 플러티.ai, one of the FuturePlay's investment portfolios, has made good results, such as being acquired by Samsung Electronics.

6. Bigbang Angels(Funding Size : Millions of dollars)

BigBang Angels is an angel club involving several rich individual investors, including CEO Hwang Byung-sun. Investing in Lezhin Comics in 2013 achieved good investment results, signaling its presence in the industry.

​Since then, it has grown rapidly by investing in dozens of teams based on several individual investment associations. However, there has been no active movement or noticeable news recently.

7. 500 Global(Funding Size : Thousands~Millions of dollars) ​

500 Global is an global accelerator and early investor founded in San Francisco, United States. It is also active in Korea. It fosters and supports start-ups in stages such as seed programs, pre-series A, Series A and etc. As it has a global network, it is highly likely to receive international and in-depth help.

8. Mark & Company(Funding Size : Thousands~Millions of dollars)

Mark & Company is an accelerator created independently by Dreamplus members run by Hanwha Group. It recently formed a venture fund and is investing in early-stage companies at the same time, and is striving to build a startup ecosystem by creating a startup data base service called 혁신의숲.

9. Schmidt(Funding Size : Millions of dollars) ​

Schmidt is a subsidiary of DSC Investment, a one of the leading Korean venture capitals, and is an accelerator in charge of initial startup investment and fostering. Although they advocate accelerators, their activities are actively engaged in investment rather than fostering startups. There is a possibility that it will be transformed into a micro venture capital in the future.

10. DHP(Funding Size : Thousands~Millions of dollars)

DHP is an accelerator that specializes in bio and digital healthcare. It supports medical and clinical expertise as well as resources necessary for startups such as law, management, accounting, and business models. The explosive growth of the bio and healthcare industries has drawn more attention. Its competitiveness is that it has experts and mentors in each field.

These top 10 accelerators of Korea offer startups the opportunity to receive mentorship, investment, and resources to help them grow and develop their businesses. Whether a startup is focused on AI, gaming, healthcare, or technology, there is an accelerator program in Korea that can help them succeed.