Korean metaverse player closes Series A, hits $807m valuation
VA Corporation, a Korean virtual content provider that is positioning itself as a metaverse platform, has achieved a valuation of KRW 1trn (USD 807m) on closing a KRW 100bn Series A round.
The capital came from Paratus Investment, a domestic private equity firm that claims more than KRW 500bn in assets under management across single-asset project vehicles and blind pool funds. Established in 2014, it has previously invested in Scenic, a wafer manufacturing spinout from SK Group, and car-sharing platform Socar.
VA was formed in January 2021 by Sang-rok Lee, who built his fortune through cosmetics company Carver Korea. He retained a minority interest in the business when Bain Capital and Goldman Sachs acquired control in July 2016 through a USD 380m investment. Just over 12 months later, Unilever purchased a 95% stake at a valuation of USD 2.7bn.
VA’s portfolio comprises a virtual studio, virtual solutions, and intellectual property assets. It develops content for movies, TV dramas, music videos, advertisements, and events, leveraging Asia’s largest LED wall-based virtual studio and competencies in visual special effects. Clients include Netflix, Disney+, Kakao, Krafton, and Vogue.
The company has partnerships with a string of technology specialists. Last year, it agreed to work with LG Corporation’s artificial intelligence (AI) research institute on AI human and metaverse innovations. It is also working with Skonec Entertainment, a virtual reality (VR) and immersive content developer now focused on metaverse applications, and LG Electronics.
The Series A proceeds will go towards expanding VA’s 115,000-square-metre virtual studio on the outskirts of Seoul, developing new technology areas such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cultivating talent and business lines that will strengthen its metaverse capabilities.
Dong-eon Kim, CEO of VA, said in a statement that the company would “further expand the quantitative and qualitative growth of metaverse content.”
Metaverse development angles are proliferating across the Asian start-up universe. It is widely interpreted as a decentralized vision of the internet, where users interact in 3D environments, and everything is composed of blockchain-based NFTs. Brand owners, from gaming companies to luxury goods retailers, are looking for ways to establish a foothold. Content is a common denominator.
Other Korea-related investments along these lines include a USD 43m commitment to digital cartoon studio Copin Communications by NPX Capital. The private equity firm has raised USD 250m across several project funds to build out a media-focused M&A platform called Terapin Studios. There is an emphasis on AI, virtual reality, and the metaverse.
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