Australia-listed tech company SEEK Limited has announced a $48-million investment in JobKorea while six startups have raised $150,000 in funding from consumer-tech programme SOSV MOX.
SEEK acquires 10% stake in JobKorea
Australia-listed tech company SEEK Limited (SEEK) has announced an investment of $48 million in online recruitment platform JobKorea, according to an announcement.
SEEK, which owns two employment marketplaces JobStreet and JobsDB in Southeast Asia, will hold a 10% stake in JobKorea. As part of the deal, SEEK Asia CEO Peter Bithos will join the board of JobKorea.
The remaining 90% of JobKorea is owned by Korean private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, which acquired the hiring platform in May 2021.
Established in 1996, JobKorea operates two employment marketplaces, JobKorea (full-time) and Albamon (part-time), where employers place their job postings and candidates search through the platforms to find suitable positions.
SEEK is a diverse group comprising a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. The company has a presence in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South-East Asia, Brazil and Mexico.
SOSV backs six startups
US-based VC firm SOSV has backed six startups that will receive $150,000 in funding as part of its consumer-tech programme SOSV MOX.
The six startups are 1Trolley (Egypt), Bounty Media (Singapore), ConfirmU (Singapore), PickMyWork (India), Smartchoice (Pakistan), Swag Kicks (Pakistan). The startups are into monetising opportunities in cookie-less advertising, credit-risk assessment using psychometric data, insurance marketplaces, re-commerce, and SME digitisation.
“As an investor, we believe in the longer game: leveling the field for the smartest teams from Asia and MENAP, and helping them reach profitability by solving real market problems,” SOSV general partner William Bao Bean.
SOSV has more than $1 billion in assets under management and over 1120 portfolio companies as of August 2021.
The firm’s internet portfolio includes crypto-product trading platform BitMEX, Google-backed AI English pronunciation assistant ELSA, Samsung-backed video publisher Flickstree, APAC’s tutoring platform Snapask, and luxury brand management group Ushopal.