Viva Republica Inc. (Korean: 주식회사 비바리퍼블리카) is a South Korean technology company active in lending, payment services, financial services and stock brokerage. It is the operator of the financial super-app Toss, which had over 20 million users in South Korea in 2021.[1] With a valuation of $7.4 billion, it was one of the most valuable unicorns in South Korea.[2]
Native name | 주식회사 비바리퍼블리카 |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Fintech |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Lee Seung-gun |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | South Korea, Vietnam |
Key people | Lee Seung-gun (CEO) |
| Website | toss |
History
editToss was launched in 2014 as a peer-to-peer money transfer platform by the former dentist Lee Seung-gun after eight failed ventures.[3] Over time, more and more new services were offered on the platform, including loans, credit scores and personal investing.[2]
Altos Ventures was the first investor in 2014. Later PayPal, Sequoia China and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC also invested in the start-up.[3]
In 2018, the company became a unicorn after raising $80 million in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital.[4]
In 2020, Toss was launched in Vietnam, its first overseas expansion.[1]
In October 2020, Toss launched Toss Bank, a neobank.[5]
In June 2021, Viva Republica raised a further $410 million in a funding. Investors included Alkeon Capital and the Korea Development Bank.[1]
In November 2021, Viva Republica announced the acquisition of a majority stake in VCNC, which operates a ride-hailing service called Tada.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Viva Republica, developer of Korean financial super app Toss, raises $410M at a $7.4B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ a b Kang, John. "Former Dentist Becomes A Billionaire After Funding Round Boosts His Korean Fintech Startup". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ a b Gilchrist, Karen (2019-09-20). "This dentist built a $2 billion Korean start-up — after 8 failed businesses along the way". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ "Payment service Toss becomes Korea's newest unicorn after raising $80M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ "Korea's 3rd app-based bank Toss Bank kicks off amid loan bottleneck in Korea - Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea". pulsenews.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
- ^ "South Korea-based Viva Republica/Toss eyes ride-hailing expansion". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2022-02-03.