The investment is believed to be the first of its kind in the country
Seoul-based fintech startup AIM announced that it has raised a US$1.6 million in seed funding, according to a report by TechCrunch.
DT&I, Soorim, Seoul Business Agency, and Startup Bootcamp participated in the funding round which reported to put the startup’s value at US$7 million.
Apart from a wider launch of its mobile platform in the startup’s home market of South Korea, AIM plans to use the funding to support its international expansion to other Asian countries. It will start with Singapore and “potentially” one more location in the second half of 2017, said AIM CEO and Co-Founder Jenna Lee.
“We’re thinking about regional expansion and want to build a playbook for international financial services,” she said.
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The startup is reported to be the first in its field to raise money in South Korea, particularly one at a valuation “that is not traditionally given to early-stage companies in the country,” said Lee.
She also stated that typically investors will not invest at a valuation of more than US$5 million due to a “perceived notion of limited upside within the ‘small’ Korean market.”
AIM aims to democratise the industry by developing a system that allows users to make trades and investment via smartphone. According to the company, they were able to streamline the process by outsourcing trading to brokers, who cover licensing and compliance.
“We’re leveraging not only our resources but a brokerage’s resources in an efficient way,” Lee said.
The platform is currently in open beta stage with 300 selected users on board. Though Lee stated that there are more than 4,000 users with some US$166 million in assets waiting to get in, the startup will not open the platform for more users until May.
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