Korea’s Top 10 Scale-Ups to Watch in 2026

#10 Travel Wallet(트래블월렛)

Why Travel Wallet Made the List

Selected as one of 15 government-backed pre-unicorn companies in 2025, Travel Wallet operates a multi-currency wallet and cross-border payment platform. In an era when 17.5 million foreign tourists visit Korea annually, the company sits at the intersection of fintech and travel infrastructure. Furthermore, the pre-unicorn designation unlocks up to ₩20 billion in special guarantees, accelerating its path to unicorn status.

As a result, the platform is well-positioned to become the default payment rail for inbound and outbound travelers across the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, its lower fee structure compared to traditional banks gives it a compelling edge in this rapidly growing market.

#9 Sendbird(센드버드)

Korea-Born, Silicon Valley-Scaled

Sendbird powers in-app messaging for some of the world’s most downloaded applications. Across chat, voice, and video channels, it processes over 7 billion monthly conversations. Meanwhile, its latest product, Delight.ai, extends the company’s infrastructure into AI-powered customer service—thereby opening an entirely new revenue stream.

Born in Seoul and scaled in Silicon Valley, Sendbird stands as a textbook example of a Korea-born B2B global success story. In fact, most users interact with Sendbird’s technology daily without ever realizing it, since it is deeply embedded in the app layer. For a broader list of Korean startup unicorns, Sendbird has been a consistent presence.

#8 Liner(라이너)

Global Accuracy Leadership in AI Search

Liner’s AI search and deep-research platform achieved the #1 global ranking on the SimpleQA benchmark for factual reliability, outperforming all major AI models. That result alone attracted worldwide attention. Nevertheless, its commercial traction is equally impressive: Korean subscribers grew 13x year-over-year in 2025, and monthly chat traffic surged 216%.

Strategic Distribution Partnerships

Beyond organic growth, Liner has also secured distribution deals that most startups can only dream of. Specifically, it signed a pre-installation agreement with Lenovo PCs and became the main search engine for SK Telecom’s A.Dot AI platform. In addition, Saudi Arabia’s national AI company Humain integrated Liner’s core technology into its Humain One platform. These partnerships demonstrate that Liner’s conversational AI capabilities have genuine global demand.

#7 Medit(메디트)

Replacing Plaster Molds with 60-Second Digital Scans

Medit is the world’s third-largest 3D dental scanner manufacturer—and it is growing faster than the two companies above it. Its i900 scanner generates a full digital dental model in under 60 seconds, replacing the plaster mold process that previously took hours. As a result, the device has become the industry standard for dental clinics seeking a faster, more accurate workflow.

PE-Backed Growth Trajectory

After MBK Partners acquired Medit for $2 billion in 2022, the company raised an additional ₩140 billion in 2025—one of Q3’s largest rounds. Notably, more than 70% of revenue comes from the United States and Europe. Furthermore, the global dental scanner market is currently valued at $14.7 billion, yet its digitization rate remains at only 30%, leaving substantial room for continued growth.

#6 DeepX(딥엑스)

Beyond the Data Center: AI at the Edge

While Rebellions and FuriosaAI compete for data center supremacy, DeepX builds AI chips for everything else—security cameras, factory robots, drones, and smart appliances. As one of the most versatile Korea scale-ups 2026, its on-device NPUs operate without cloud connectivity, making them essential for real-time, low-power applications. Consequently, Korea’s deep tech investment boom has heavily benefited companies like DeepX.

The AI Semiconductor Trinity

Founder and CEO Lokwon Kim, a former Apple and IBM engineer, has built partnerships with over 20 design houses across the US, Korea, China, and Taiwan. Together with Rebellions and FuriosaAI, DeepX forms Korea’s “AI semiconductor trinity.” Moreover, according to Bloomberg, DeepX is preparing a pre-IPO round significantly larger than its Series C, with Morgan Stanley hired to lead the process.

#5 Wrtn (뤼튼)

The First Korean AI Service to Cross ₩100B in Funding

Wrtn became the first Korean AI service startup—outside of LLM and semiconductor companies—to surpass ₩100 billion in cumulative funding. Its flagship product, Crack, is an interactive storytelling platform where users become protagonists of AI-generated narratives, combining text, images, and real-time audio. As a consequence, the platform has achieved engagement metrics that rival Netflix and YouTube.

Netflix-Level Engagement, Venture-Scale Economics

Specifically, average users spend 2 hours daily on the platform, and paying user retention exceeds 70%. Goodwater Capital—the same firm that backed Coupang and Toss—led the Series B round. Wrtn is also expanding aggressively into Japan and the UAE, with a US launch planned for June 2026. In addition, the company targets a 2028 IPO on either the Korean or US exchange.

#4 Upstage(업스테이지)

The Only Korean Model in the Global Top 10

Upstage’s Solar Pro 2 model (31 billion parameters) is the only Korean model ranked among the world’s top 10 frontier models by Artificial Analysis. When Amazon and AMD co-invested $45 million in August 2025, it was a clear signal that global hyperscalers view Upstage as a credible competitor in enterprise AI. Similarly, its first-half 2025 revenue of ₩17 billion already exceeded total 2024 revenue.

Korea’s First Generative AI IPO

If the IPO completes as planned in H2 2026, Upstage will become Korea’s first publicly listed generative AI company. Analysts believe this could “redefine the scale of Korea’s AI economy.” Furthermore, the company is preparing a pre-IPO round targeting $300 million at a $900 million valuation—a major milestone for the broader global venture capital firms investing in Korean startups.

#3 BENOW(비나우 — Numbuzin / Fwee)

Korea’s First Unicorn Without Issuing New Shares

BENOW made Korean startup history by becoming the first company to reach unicorn status through secondary transactions alone—no equity dilution required. Operating the skincare brand Numbuzin and color cosmetics line Fwee, the company has recorded 100–200% annual revenue growth for five consecutive years. In other words, the K-beauty wave that is transforming global skincare has produced a breakout venture-scale company.

Global Revenue Dominance

More than 70% of BENOW’s revenue now comes from international markets, including the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Both co-founders are Seoul National University alumni and former Amorepacific executives, bringing deep industry expertise. Additionally, the company operates a dual-moat model: direct-to-consumer brand power combined with OEM/ODM manufacturing capabilities. For context, other independent K-beauty brands have rarely achieved this level of scale at such speed.

#2 FuriosaAI(퓨리오사 AI)

2.25x Better Performance Per Watt Than GPUs

FuriosaAI’s RNGD (“Renegade”) chip delivers 2.25x better LLM inference performance per watt compared to conventional GPUs. LG AI Research validated this benchmark when it deployed RNGD chips for its EXAONE large language model. For data center operators, this metric fundamentally changes infrastructure budget calculations. Consequently, FuriosaAI has attracted interest from organizations seeking alternatives to NVIDIA’s dominance.

Private Equity Steps into Deep Tech

Over 40 institutional investors participated in the Series C bridge, including Korea Development Bank and Kakao Investment. Notably, private equity firms—which typically avoid early-stage deep tech—invested ₩40 billion. This unusual move signals that FuriosaAI has transitioned from a speculative startup to a scale-ready AI infrastructure company. Moreover, the IPO is expected in 2026, which would add another Korean AI semiconductor name to the public markets. The company is part of what analysts call Korea’s deep tech moment.

#1 Rebellions(리벨리온스)

The Largest Single Round by a Korean Startup

Rebellions recorded the single largest investment round ever by a Korean private startup—in just three years since founding. However, the real headline is who invested. Arm made its first-ever Asia-Pacific startup investment in Rebellions. Kindred Ventures, the same firm behind Perplexity and Uber, made its first Korean bet. Investors from seven countries participated, underscoring the global conviction behind this company.

World-First UCIe-Advanced AI Accelerator

The REBEL-Quad chip is the world’s first UCIe-Advanced AI accelerator, designed for petascale inference in next-generation data centers. Meanwhile, the first-generation ATOM chip already powers Korea’s largest commercial AI service, serving customers in Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. According to CB Insights, Rebellions ranks #2 worldwide in AI inference performance.