Bucketplace, a South Korean online-to-offline (O2O) platform for home and interior design, has successfully raised $70 million (KRW 77 billion) in a Series C funding round.
Bond Capital, led by Mary Meeker, led the investment, marking its first foray into the South Korean startup ecosystem.
Other participants in the round included IMM Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, and Naver.
Founded in July 2014, Bucketplace operates the Today's House (오늘의 집) application and website, which provides various content, marketplaces, and construction services for housing and interior design.
The platform has been downloaded 14 million times, with a monthly transaction volume of KRW 100 billion (USD 90 million) in e-commerce and construction.
The South Korean housing and interior design market is experiencing significant growth.
This year's market is worth KRW 41.9 trillion (US$38 billion), up from KRW 28.4 trillion in 2016. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for housing and interior design.
Listed Hanssem (KRX: 009240) reported a 41.4% year-on-year increase in its B2C housing and interior design business in the third quarter, despite a decline in its B2B segment.
Bucketplace is among the startups, including Zipdoc, ZIPGGUMIGI, and Houstep, shaping and expanding this growing market.
Bucketplace plans to use the newly secured funds to improve the customer experience by hiring additional talent and enhancing its products.
This round of investment comes as foreign investment in South Korea declined in October due to the ongoing pandemic.
However, the housing and interior design sector's potential market opportunity attracted Bond Capital to lead the funding round.
