This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 11:42 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2026.
Autonomous Driving software startup RideFlux has completed a pre-IPO (fundraising before listing) round worth 33 billion won. Leveraging its Autonomous Driving technology, the company will undergo a technological suitability review in the first half of this year, aiming for a special technology listing on the KOSDAQ market within the year.
According to the venture capital (VC) industry on the 3rd, RideFlux recently raised a 33 billion won pre-IPO round. It came about two months after it began seeking pre-IPO funding in early Dec. last year, with Atinum Investment, the Korea Development Bank, and Capstone Partners participating.
In particular, Atinum Investment and the Korea Development Bank are understood to have finalized investments of 10 billion won each at the end of last year. In addition, Capstone Partners, Enbester, and SmartStudy Ventures injected 13 billion won. Final payment is scheduled for next week.
RideFlux was founded in 2018 by Chief Executive Park Jung-hee, who holds a Ph.D. in engineering from MIT. It develops technologies for perception, localization, prediction, decision-making, and control needed for Autonomous Driving, and in 2024 it received a temporary permit for "unmanned Autonomous Driving."
VCs gave high marks to the fact that RideFlux is conducting "unmanned permit–based" Autonomous Driving test runs with the driver's seat vacant in the Sangam area of Seoul. The company has already secured more than 2,300 hours of cumulative Autonomous Driving data and plans a public service next year.
Beyond Seoul, it has also built a revenue base by actually operating Autonomous Driving public transportation services in major cities nationwide, including Busan, Sejong, and Jeju. RideFlux posted about 1.9 billion won in sales in 2024. Last year's sales are estimated at about 4 billion won, double the previous year.
Top-line growth appears set to accelerate this year. It is reported to be starting paid Autonomous Driving freight transport this year with major domestic logistics and manufacturing corporations such as Samdasoo. As part of a national project, it also began a Level 4 Autonomous Driving car-sharing pilot.
The listing preparations are in the final stage. RideFlux selected Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Woori Investment & Securities as joint lead underwriters last year and set a plan to list on the KOSDAQ market within the year. The goal is a special technology listing for companies without realized profits, with a plan to complete the technological suitability review in the first half.
Meanwhile, RideFlux's cumulative fundraising, including the pre-IPO, has surpassed 88 billion won. A VC industry official said, "We gave high marks to the fact that it is the corporations that is fastest making the commercialization of Autonomous Driving a reality in Korea."