"Where Is the Next Teenieping?"...Big Money Pours Into Content Startups [VC Now]

Success of "Catch! Teenieping" and "Judge Lee Hanyoung" in quick succession
Hundreds of billions to trillions of won in funds created to secure original IP
Race to secure IP accelerates... early-stage investments in IP companies

As the status of K-content rises, capital in the venture investment market is rapidly flowing into content companies that own original intellectual property (IP). This trend is leading not only to the creation of funds aimed at investing in the expansion potential of IP, but also to early-stage investments for faster IP acquisition.

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Funds created to secure IP

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Venture Investment Corp. on the 20th, a 200 billion won IP fund is scheduled to be created through the "First Regular Commitment of the 2026 Fund of Funds" program. It will be the largest among the eight sub-funds of the 731.8 billion won content policy fund to be formed through this commitment program. Each individual sub-fund will receive 100 billion won to focus on supporting the acquisition of original IP.

Korea Growth Investment Corp. is also joining the race to secure IP through the 55 billion won "First and Second K-Content and Media Strategic Funds." The first fund, worth 30 billion won, will focus on supporting the acquisition of content IP and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of content companies, targeting domestic companies that have content production plans. The second fund, worth 25 billion won, has expanded its investment scope not only to acquiring IP from domestic companies that already own content IP, but also to advanced media technology companies such as those developing artificial intelligence (AI) applied to the broadcasting and video industry and visual effects (VFX).

In fact, IP investment has been increasing steeply. According to the Intellectual Property Office, the scale of IP investment surged from 862.8 billion won in 2021 to 1.9331 trillion won in 2022, 3.1943 trillion won in 2023, and 4.3166 trillion won in 2024.

Why the market is focusing on IP

The reason the IP market is drawing this much attention is largely due to changes in content investment trends. Whereas investments used to be centered simply on production companies, the trend is shifting toward technology-based IP houses. In other words, in the past the box-office performance of individual titles was what mattered, but now attention is focused on the "one source multi-use (OSMU)" strategy, which maximizes profits by adapting a single IP across a variety of media.

Web novel IP, in particular, is enjoying a boom through OSMU. The drama "Judge Lee Han Young," which ended on the 14th with a peak viewership rating of 13.6% (nationwide, Nielsen Korea), is a representative example of IP expansion. Naver Webtoon serialized writer Lee Haenal’s web novel on Naver Series in 2018, then adapted it into a webtoon and later into a drama. In the two weeks after the drama aired, downloads of the original web novel increased by 147 times compared with before the broadcast, and webtoon views more than doubled 20-fold during the same period, creating a virtuous cycle.

Animation character IP is also popular. "Catch! Teenieping" by SAMG Entertainment, which aired in 2020 for children aged 4 to 7, is expanding in many directions beyond the toy business, including pop-up stores, films, musicals, and games, based on more than 120 characters. The Teenieping movie "Love’s Heartchuping," which opened in August 2024, ranked second in the history of Korean animated films with 1.23 million viewers, boosting its recognition even among Millennials & Gen Z. On the back of this, at the offline store that opened late last year, 20% of visitors were in their 20s, and as the fandom grows, IP monetization is expected to accelerate further.

Kim Ayoung, a researcher at Daishin Securities, explained, "IP has enormous potential for expansion. Game IP can be used for media mix, starting with the game merchandise market and moving on to novelization through game storytelling, and webtoon IP and the like can generate hundreds of billions of won in profit if video adaptations succeed, thanks to high IP leverage."

Industry moves to invest in IP companies at early stages

To secure IP quickly, early-stage investment moves are standing out. Recently, Next Level Studio raised 3.5 billion won in Series A funding from new investors such as S2L Partners and We Ventures, as well as existing investor Timefolio Asset Management.

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Founded in 2021, Next Level Studio is assessed as having strong execution capabilities in IP expansion, as it is extending OSMU from web novels into music and other areas based on popular webtoon IPs such as "How the Illegitimate Child of the Regression Swordmaster Lives," "The Villainess’s Blind Date Partner Is Too Perfect," and "New Demon God War." The new funds will be used to expand its lineup of original IP, pursue secondary commercialization such as merchandise, and enter the North American and Japanese markets.

Media-tech startup Scon, which operates virtual characters, is also drawing market expectations through a total of 8.5 billion won in Series A funding. In this round, with CJ Investment and others participating as major investors, 4 billion won and 4.5 billion won are being injected separately.

Founded in 2018, Scon has grown by planning, producing, and operating virtual characters. In particular, it has internalized infrastructure by operating a motion capture studio for character production, and has launched services such as games and AI chatbots based on virtual YouTuber (VTuber) IP. Building on this investment, Scon plans to accelerate its overseas expansion, including recruiting foreign VTubers, and to broaden its business areas to games and live commerce based on the IP it has secured.

An industry insider said, "While investment in IP is expanding worldwide, Korea’s dramas, webtoons, and other K-content are highly competitive. It is crucial to discover and secure IP with strong expansion potential at an early stage."