Startup App Disco announced last week that it had successfully secured an investment of 3.5 billion won from Innopolis Partners. The amount is significant for a first investment following the launch of its AdLatte platform in July last year. This is the first time in several years that a startup has gained funding of over 3 billion won for its first investment.
Innopolis Partners is a venture capital firm that until now has mainly invested in semi-conductor and bio-tech companies located in Daejeon. Around six other venture capital companies considered investment in App Disco before Innopolis Partners made its decision. Innopolis partner Giju Lee commented on the deal, saying “App Disco has seen a quick growth in revenue through its successful business in both Korea and Japan. We assessed that it was not simply an ad reward platform, but it also holds great possibilities for expansion and development in various areas.”
With a total revenue of 300 million won in January 2012, App Disco posted 1 billion won in revenue just a few months later in May. This grew further to 1.5 billion won in the send half of the year. What was originally a team of only 20 staff has now grown to 105 – the company having to move offices four times just to accommodate everyone in the company. App Disco’s director Beom-ryeong Ryu commented on the investment saying, “This year we have basically been going at it alone and made it this far. The investment will allow us to take a breath and get a foothold on carrying out long-term plans.”
App Disco plans to actively enter overseas markets and advance its services with the investment funds. Having already registered its company in Hong Kong just last month, contracts are also being written up to enter Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. The US and Mexico are also being considered as potential markets. App Disco CEO Soo-hwan Jeong said, “We plan to improve services together with expanding globally and add new features. Our top priority is recruiting the best people.”
Read the original article in Korean at ET News, a media partner of VentureSquare.