AI-based Fintech Startup 'Quara' to Receive Investment from Mirae Asset and Naver

350 Million Won Series A Investment Secured... Cumulative Investment Surpasses 5 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Quarasoft, a fintech (finance + technology) startup developing AI-based financial investment methods, has secured an investment of 3.5 billion KRW from Mirae Asset and Naver.

On the 24th, Quarasoft announced that it had raised this Series A investment (pre-market entry stage) from Mirae Asset Capital's Mirae Asset-Naver New Growth Investment Fund, NXC, Kingsley Asset Management, and others. With this, the total investment amount has reached 5.3 billion KRW, including the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) led by the Small and Medium Business Administration.

The investment will be used to enhance the "mobile micro-investment platform," which was selected as an innovative financial service by the Financial Services Commission last April. This platform supports general investors to invest small amounts in overseas listed stocks through mobile services provided by Mirae Asset Daewoo and Quarasoft. Customers and Quarasoft each enter into a trust agreement with a trustee (Mirae Asset Daewoo), and customers directly specify the quantity and amount of overseas stocks to be traded on the platform.

When the trading quantity specified by the customer is fractional, the trustee trades overseas stocks in quantities combined with Quarasoft's trust assets to make the minimum unit an integer. The results of overseas stock trading are attributed to the individual investor's trust assets. The service is scheduled to launch in the first half of next year.

Kim Beomgyu, Head of Digital Innovation at Mirae Asset Daewoo, said, "With the joint designation of Quarasoft and innovative financial services, we will offer overseas stock investors the opportunity to invest conveniently and at low cost with amounts under 10,000 KRW, comparable to domestic stock investments."

Previously, Quarasoft developed the deep learning algorithm "Market Dreamer," which analyzes financial markets using 30 years of past data, and provides it to KB Asset Management, KB Kookmin Bank, Hanwha Financial Group, Mirae Asset Daewoo, and others. They also launched the AI stock price prediction robo-advisor application "Kosho," usable in 11 countries, and the AI analyst "WhatIsFund," which allows users to view related stocks, news, disclosure materials, and stock comparisons at a glance through keyword searches. Last year, Quarasoft was selected as a "2019 Cool Vendor" in Gartner's fintech AI category.

Meanwhile, following this investment, Quarasoft has recruited Director Lim Jaeho, formerly of JP Morgan, and former CEO Son Bomi, who completed a three-year executive term, will serve as a management advisor. Accordingly, the company will shift to a sole CEO system under CEO Byun Changhwan.

Byun Changhwan, CEO of Quarasoft, stated, "Through this investment, we can now fully introduce the services we envisioned at the start of our founding to customers. We will strive to establish a foundation that allows not only domestic but also overseas stock investment to be easily accessible to the general public."