Korea Credit Data raises $75m, achieves unicorn status

The sole investor was Morgan Stanley Tactical Value Investing, according to a KCD social media post. A division of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, it makes opportunistic private, long-term investments globally, operating across all asset classes and across the capital structure.

KCD has now raised KRW 260bn since it was founded in 2016. The company was valued at approximately KRW 1trn on closing a KRW 35bn Series D extension in October 2022 with participation from global financial technology player Finserv and LG Corporation subsidiary LG Uplus.

Kakao Ventures and D.Camp were the earliest investors, providing KRW 450m in seed funding in 2016, AVCJ Research’s records show. Later rounds featured Bass Investment, Dunamu & Partners, Kolon Investment, Shinhan Card, Kookmin Bank, KT Investment, Pavilion Capital, GS Holdings, and Kclavis Investment. KCD also identifies Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Temasek Holdings as investors.

The company’s core product is Cash Note, a bookkeeping app based on a Kakao Talk chatbot. It enables small business owners to manage account balances and track cash flow, including sales, expenditure, and credit card settlements. Approximately 1.3m merchants are currently using Cash Note.

In addition, KCD operates a data portal that helps users understand the needs and concerns of the SME community. Last year, the company acquired Fiserv’s local payment solutions business.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Expansion
• Financials
• South Korea
• Morgan Stanley
• Growth capital
• Fintech
• SME