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Ten years ago, Dongwan Kim helped his ceramicist cousin find sales channels such as flea markets. But they had trouble finding a suitable platform, so about a year later, Kim decided to create his own marketplace for handmade goods in South Korea called Backpacker.
Today, Backpacker, which operates a handheld marketplace called Edus, has raised $16 million (20 billion won) in Series C financing, two and a half years after its first Series C financing, which was $24 million (about 30 billion won).
The startup is now valued at $240.1 million post-funding, according to sources familiar with the situation. Backpacker said it has raised a total of $56.8 million since its founding in 2012, but declined to disclose estimates. Returning investor Altos Ventures led the extension along with Stone Bridge and new investors Axiom Asia and. Vanderbilt University.
The new capital will help Backpacker expand to Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, in the second quarter of this year to become Asia’s Asia Kim. He said in an interview with TechCrunch. Backpacker plans to use the proceeds to invest in R&D to advance its artificial intelligence-powered search and recommendation system, as well as hire more employees.
The startup intends to sell South Korean-made products overseas and bring handmade products made in Southeast Asia to South Korea through its platform. According to Kim, other countries such as Japan and the US are on the radar for the following destinations. Backpacker has to compete with handmade Asian marketplaces like Japan-based Mine & Crema, Taiwan-based Pinkoy and Singapore-headquartered Carousel. It is expected that the market size of Asian handmade products will reach 307.8 billion dollars in 2027It will rise from $149 billion in 2021.
The company operates a crowdfunding platform called Edus not only as a core business Tumblbug In the year He got it in 2020. Backpacker has launched a Patreon-like creative subscription service called Studio to connect. Artists with their fans, Kim said. Backpacker’s model is to envision a one-stop platform for its creators, which is a key feature of the company, Kim pointed out.
“We want to make it a one-stop shop for creators to raise money for their products by enabling users (creators) to open their own online boutiques and sell their crafts and products including bakery, soap, candles, jewelry, perfume, bags, furniture, home decor and art.” And connect creators with fans and help them deliver lessons online or offline, Kim told TechCrunch.
Backpacker, which had about 60,000 creators as of November last year, said it had $804 million in total merchandise volume in November and had a break in the second half of last year, though it still posted a loss in fiscal 2022. The outfit expects to turn a profit this year, Kim said. he said.
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