On the 10th, Duwas, which operates the marketing platform "ZVZO" that connects influencers (people with a high profile on the internet) and brands, announced that it raised 10 billion won in Series A funding.
Existing venture capitalists of Duwas, including BASS, Korea Investment Partners, and Fast Ventures, all participated in follow-up investments, and new investors Murex Partners and IMM Investment joined as well.
Duwas, founded in November 2023 by CEO Won Ji-hyun, who was a co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of Watcha, and Director Kim Yoo-jun, a former chief technology officer (CTO) at Abley, secured seed investment three weeks after its establishment and showcased the service ZVZO six months later, completing its pre-Series A investment in May 2024.
The company points to the rapid growth of ZVZO's transaction volume, increasing by more than 10% weekly, and its nearing break-even point (BEP) on a monthly basis as evidence of its profitability, which served as the background for attracting investments.
Creators use ZVZO to introduce products they recommend to followers (subscribers) on their social media (SNS) channels, such as Instagram, YouTube, Naver, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Threads, earning revenue from brands.
Brands can check in real-time how effectively creators sold their products and can reward a certain amount as a commission based on the actual sales amount.
Yang Hyung-jun, an executive at BASS who led this investment, noted, "As media diversifies, the influence of creators in the commerce (e-commerce) area is becoming increasingly absolute," adding, "Duwas has focused only on the essence desired by brands, creators, and customers and has shown results. It will also succeed in category and global expansion extremely well."
Based on this investment, Duwas will begin aggressive recruitment across all functions, including development, business, data, design, finance, and merchandise planning (MD).