ICONLOOP announced Thursday that it has raised KRW 10 billion (over USD 8 million) in Series A funding.
With the injection of cash, ICONLOOP’s very first VC investment since its foundation in 2016, the blockchain company will focus on the launch of its DID service my-ID and expansion of the “my-ID Alliance.”
Seven investment companies including Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) and T.S. Investment participated in this round.
“The blockchain technology is evolving into practical applications, such as decentralized ID services in line with the global trend, giving users back personal data sovereignty,” said an official from the Venture Investment Center at KOTEC, the lead investor in the round. “We believe ICONLOOP acquired technological advantages and know-hows from many major projects with various financial and public organizations and it will lead the growth of the blockchain industry in Korea after it dominates the market with its my-ID service.”
Jungsu Kim, a board member of the investment team at T.S. Investment,said, “The market has been paying greater attention to DID services and I have a high expectation on ICONLOOP as it already has the three pillars of success — clear business model, partners participating in service expansion, and proven technologies.”
The ICONLOOP team plans to launch my-ID as a commercialized service in the first half of next year. The blockchain-based mobile ID service powered by ICONLOOP’s own DID technology was designated an Innovative Financial Service by the Financial Services Commission in June, one of only a handful of blockchain services recognized by Korea’s top financial regulator.
Some 27 organizations and corporations including banks, security firms, e-commerce companies and manufacturing companies have joined the “my-ID Alliance,” the network of firms that accept my-ID identification.
ICONLOOP will expand the my-ID Alliance to fintech, e-commerce, sharing economy, healthcare and beyond to create “a pioneering example of digital identification utilizing blockchain,” according to the press release.
“I believe this investment shows that ICONLOOP’s blockchain technology and its marketability have been proven and the company would take the responsibility to boost the vitality of the overall market as a leading blockchain company in Korea.” said Jonghyup Kim, CEO of ICONLOOP. “ICONLOOP will continue relentless efforts to provide blockchain technologies and platforms that can be implemented into the entire industry and help the general public embrace blockchain technologies, contributing to building a more convenient and trustworthy society.”
Min Kim, Foundation Council Member, added, “Our partnership with ICONLOOP has been instrumental in driving the success of the ICON Project. Solving digital identification will be a necessary pillar of Web 3.0 technology and a baseline for interoperability and trust among ecosystems and organizations of the future. We’re excited about the continued success of our technology partner and look forward to seeing progress with my-ID and other ‘loopchain’ implementations.”
The Iconist took a deeper look at the “my-ID” identification service back in July.
