VCs commit $13.9m to Korean mobile laundry service
Laundrygo, a Korea-based on-demand laundry service, has raised KRW17 billion ($13.9 million) in Series B funding from Korea Investment Partners, Aju IB Investment, KT Investment, Samsung Venture Investment, and DS Asset Management.
Existing backers Altos Ventures and Hana Ventures also participated. They – alongside SoftBank Ventures Asia – were responsible for Laundrygo's KRW6.5 billion Series A in May 2019. This came within two months of the company's launch.
Customers place their clothes into a smart laundry collection box developed by Laundrygo, which is collected from their home and the laundered items are returned within 24 hours. Orders are made through a mobile app and discounts are offered to those who pay a monthly subscription. Dry cleaning services are available as well as standard laundry services. Coverage is currently limited to Seoul and parts of the surrounding Gyeonggi province.
According to Geun-Ho Kim, a partner at Korea Investment Partners, the country's laundry market is worth about KRW4.5 trillion and almost entirely offline. Laundrygo has previously estimated that the market will grow to KRW7 trillion within 10 years, while SoftBank Ventures claimed the penetration of mobile services would rise from 0.5% to 15-20%.
The company says it has benefited from the social distancing measures introduced in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
"With this investment, we plan to focus on improving the customer experience, such as improving the quality and app usability of laundry through the advancement of smart factories and non-face-to-face laundry systems. In addition, we will try to provide services to increase user convenience and expand our service area," Seung-Woo Cho, CEO of Laundrygo, said in a statement cited by local media.
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