Startup Recipe publishes its Startup Investment Report 2025, predicting a V-shaped recovery in domestic startup investment in the second half of 2025.

Startup Recipe, a media outlet specializing in startups, released its "Startup Recipe Investment Report 2025," which forecasts domestic startup investment trends for 2025. According to the report, the total investment in the domestic startup ecosystem last year reached 5.9143 trillion won, remaining flat year-on-year. However, it showed a "V-shaped recovery," with a low in the first half of the year followed by a sharp recovery in the second half.

Investment in the first half of the year amounted to KRW 2.1196 trillion, a 24% decrease year-on-year. However, since July, KRW 3.8 trillion has been invested in the second half alone, reviving market dynamism. AI (artificial intelligence) has emerged as a key keyword in investment, expanding from the previous focus on software to include physical AI in areas like semiconductors and robotics, as well as industry-specific vertical AI.

By sector, bio and healthcare took first place, accounting for 25% of total investment at KRW 1.4878 trillion, followed by software at KRW 1.331 trillion. Investors maintained a selective approach, allocating funds primarily to deep-tech startups with proven technological competitiveness and revenue models.

In 2025, AI semiconductor company Furiosa AI and entertainment technology company Galaxy Corporation surpassed KRW 1 trillion in corporate value, becoming unicorns. The IPO market also showed signs of recovery, with companies like Nota, Dalba Global, and Livesmed going public. However, investments exceeding KRW 10 billion were made in the Seoul metropolitan area, accounting for 83.9%, while female-founded companies accounted for only 2.3%, highlighting continued regional and gender investment gaps as challenges.

Lee Seok-won, CEO of Media Recipe, said, “2025 is a year to overcome the harsh winter and achieve a rebound through technology-centered structural improvement,” and added, “With the government’s AI transformation policy and the influx of private capital, we expect to see full-scale growth in 2026.”