This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:08 p.m. on Mar. 16, 2026.
ZIGBANG CO., once called a "proptech unicorn" after its corporate value surpassed 2 trillion won, has seen its valuation shrink to one-eighth. With the real estate slump and sluggish business diversification overlapping to worsen its financial structure, a U.S. venture capital (VC) firm that recently moved to buy ZIGBANG CO. secondary shares valued the company at 300 billion won.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 16th, Altos Ventures recently acquired about a 3% equity stake in ZIGBANG CO. in the secondary market. It invested 10 billion won based on an enterprise value of about 300 billion won. Compared with ZIGBANG CO.'s 2.5 trillion won valuation at its pre-IPO four years ago, that figure has shrunk by nearly 90%.
An IB industry official said, "In secondary transactions without new capital inflows, a discount of around 30% is typical, but a drop of nearly 90% from the previously recognized valuation is unusual," adding, "Even excluding the secondary discount, ZIGBANG CO.'s current corporate value does not reach 400 billion won."
ZIGBANG CO.'s plunge is seen as the result of aggressive scale expansion colliding with worsening industry conditions. In 2022, it acquired Samsung SDS's Home IoT division for about the 100 billion won range and declared itself a "comprehensive proptech," but the synergy was minimal. Instead, high fixed costs in manufacturing and amortization of intangible assets exacerbated the deterioration of its financial structure.
ZIGBANG CO. has posted losses for five consecutive years from 2021 through last year. Cumulative losses are estimated to exceed 160 billion won. In 2024, ZIGBANG CO. moved to austerity management, such as cutting advertising expenses to slow its cash burn, but as a result, revenue fell 22%, halting even its top-line growth.
Its core platform business is also on shaky ground. Service revenue, including brokerage and advertising fees, fell more than 20% year over year to 53.4 billion won in 2024. With the real estate downturn sharply reducing demand for listing ads, its main revenue source, once-floated plans for a Nasdaq or KOSPI listing have been postponed indefinitely.
The secondary transaction price is expected to directly hit KDB Korea Development Bank and Hana Securities, which invested at ZIGBANG CO.'s pre-IPO. They invested more than 100 billion won in total based on a 2.5 trillion won valuation for ZIGBANG CO., but now face more than 80% in mark-to-market losses on the books.
A securities industry official said, "Given ZIGBANG CO.'s continued losses, the 300 billion won-range valuation is seen as expensive," adding, "Even if ZIGBANG CO. pursues an initial public offering (IPO) going forward, it will be difficult for pre-IPO participants such as Korea Development Bank to recoup their principal."