This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 11:55 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2025.
Venture capital firm Altos Ventures will act as an ally of Rapport Labs, which is pursuing the acquisition of SK Stoa.
On the 18th, people in the venture capital industry said Altos Ventures recently committed a new 40 billion won investment to Rapport Labs, the operator of the middle-aged and older women's fashion platform "Queenit." The payment is scheduled for the end of this month.
This comes about two years after Altos Ventures led a 34 billion won investment with Kakao Ventures and Atinum Investment as lead investors in Rapport Labs' Series B2 fundraising in July 2023, and Altos Ventures is investing the 40 billion won alone.
Altos Ventures' investment is understood to be in support of Rapport Labs' planned acquisition of SK Stoa. Rapport Labs recently launched a fundraising effort aiming to raise up to 90 billion won to finance the acquisition.
Rapport Labs previously entered SK Telecom's sale of SK Stoa and became the preferred negotiation partner. The acquisition target is 100% of the SK Stoa shares held by SK Telecom, and the sale price is viewed to be around 110 billion won.
Altos Ventures is said to have highly valued the potential business synergy if Rapport Labs, an operator of a 40s-50s specialist fashion platform, acquires home shopping channel operator SK Stoa.
It particularly viewed channel diversification as the biggest advantage of acquiring SK Stoa. SK Stoa is the country's No. 1 data-driven home shopping company, allowing Queenit to secure a home shopping channel and SK Stoa to secure a mobile channel.
With Altos Ventures' investment confirmed, Rapport Labs' fundraising has been relieved. Its own cash and deposits of about 70 billion won combined with Altos Ventures' investment will provide 110 billion won in funds.
Rapport Labs said, "In addition to existing financial investors, there are many institutional investors reviewing investments," and added, "We plan to raise more than 90 billion won in new investment to secure funds for the acquisition after the deal."
Meanwhile, internal opposition at SK Stoa is seen as a hurdle to overcome. The concern is that a startup that has never turned a profit since its founding could face management difficulties if it acquires SK Stoa.
The SK Stoa branch under the SK Broadband labor union has also planned to begin labor action. From noon to 1 p.m. that day, a rally involving all union members will be held in the square in front of the main entrance of the company's headquarters in Mapo District, Seoul.