S. Korean unicorn Karrot records $2.7 billion valuation

Danggeun Market Inc.’s buying and selling app Karrot has raised $162 million from investors including DST Global, to record a $2.7 billion valuation and makes it one of the largest startups in South Korea.

Karrot is backed by a venture arm of Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Group Corp. and the new round. It now joins a list of South Korean unicorns eyeing global expansion as growth at home plateaus.

Karrot’s new investors include Yuri Milner’s outfit and Aspex Management. Its existing investors like Altos Ventures and Goodwater Capital also participated.\

Like other South Korean startups such as Coupang Inc. and Krafton Inc., Karrot is preparing to expand internationally.

South Korean startups can also become successful like Facebook and Google as the quality of their products, marketing, and branding have all matured, said Karrot co-founder Gary Kim.

He added that there would soon be a Korean consumer app that would be used globally.

Kim said the new funds would finance Karrot’s talent acquisition and overseas expansion plans for the next 18 months to two years.

The 200-person Karrot intends to add 100 new employees this year.

The company is focusing on improving profitability, and it may take five years before any potential public listing. While its local ad sales business is growing, Karrot is not yet profitable.

Karrot handled hundreds of billions of dollars of sales last year, according to Kim.