South Korean E-commerce Ably Secures $71M Investment

Seoul, South Korea - Ably Corp secured KRW 100 billion ($71 million) in funding from Alibaba Group through a minority stake investment, marking South Korea's first unicorn of 2024 with a valuation of KRW 3 trillion ($2.1 billion).

The style commerce platform operator's valuation increased 3.5 times since its pre-Series C round in January 2022.

It achieved unicorn status within six years of its March 2018 launch, the fastest among Korean fashion platforms.

The company, which operates fashion platforms Ably, men's fashion platform 4910, and Japanese fashion app “amood,” plans to secure an additional KRW 100 billion from Silicon Valley investors and sovereign wealth funds, potentially bringing the total round to KRW 200 billion ($143 million).

The gross merchandise volume(GMV) on Ably's platform surpassed KRW 1 trillion in the first half of 2024, and annual GMV is projected to exceed KRW 2 trillion, a threefold increase from its KRW 700 billion volume in 2021. 

The platform currently serves approximately 9 million monthly active users.

Last year, the company distinguished itself as the only profitable fashion platform in South Korea, supported by its proprietary AI personalization algorithm, developed by specialists with 15 years of experience in personalization technology.

"Despite challenging market conditions, this funding round affirms the strength of our business model and our trajectory for growth. This investment will further solidify us and our leadership in South Korea's personalized style commerce sector while advancing our international market presence." " said Ably CEO Seokhoon Kang.

The investment will enhance the company's core commerce features, including product quality, recommendation technology, and user interface, while strengthening its portfolio across “amood,” 4910, and fintech services, including Ably Pay.

The company aims to facilitate international expansion for Korean sellers and provide global consumers with more accessible access to K-fashion and K-beauty products through its platforms.