[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] New Paradigm Investment, a TIPS operator under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, announced on the 5th that it has made a Pre-A investment in the art commerce platform 'ARTRAMI'.
ARTRAMI is a startup that launched the online art edit shop 'Tounou' in 2018. Tounou connects artists, factories, and consumers, innovating the art consumption market. Through the Tounou platform, artists can easily operate brand shops and generate revenue by selling their works, while consumers can purchase unique and diverse art products, allowing them to enjoy art in their daily lives.
With Tounou's simple and convenient art product sales method and On-Demand strategy, it currently offers over 4,000 art products, more than 60 artists, and 12 product categories including home furnishing, tableware, stationery, lifestyle, and tech.
Park Je-hyun, co-CEO of New Paradigm, said, "We invested in ARTRAMI as the first company based in Daegu. ARTRAMI was selected for the '2022 Baby Unicorn Nurturing Project.' The distinctiveness of Tounou lies in its rapid scalability. Its strength is the establishment of a fulfillment network and an On-Demand system that allows artists to focus solely on creation while generating revenue."
The artist edit shop Tounou, which embodies 'Everyday Life with Art,' has rapidly grown since its founding, fueled by consumers' desire to move away from standardized mass-produced products. After concretizing its business model and finding 'Product-Market Fit (PMF)' in 2021, its sales have grown by 38% quarterly.
The rapidly growing domestic home furnishing industry is estimated to reach a market size of 18 trillion KRW next year. Overseas, Redbubble, an online art goods specialist established in Australia in 2006, has succeeded with a service similar to ARTRAMI. Redbubble recorded sales of 630 billion KRW last year and has about one million artists.
Kim Hyun-tae, CEO of ARTRAMI, said, "The Pre-A investment has given our business momentum. We will enhance automation development in the rapid expansion of artists and content, as well as in customer-tailored curation. We also plan to launch the Tounou mobile app in the future and aim to grow into the best commerce platform in the art field that offers a more affordable, faster, and easier customer experience."
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