Sandbox Network raises 50 billion won in Series D funding

Sandbox Network announced on the 20th that it had raised 50 billion won in Series D funding. The round was its first new investment since its Series C in January 2019, a gap of one year and 10 months, and its largest funding round to date. The investment brings Sandbox’s cumulative funding to 90 billion won.

Sandbox is a leading Korean MCN startup founded in June 2015 by CEO Lee Pil-sung, formerly of Google Korea, and YouTube creator Ddotty. In July, the company was named a “pre-unicorn” by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, in recognition of its growth potential and innovation. Since its founding in 2015, Sandbox has raised successive rounds of large-scale investment over the past five years to support its expansion.

With this investment, Sandbox plans to strengthen its long-term growth drivers and establish itself as the industry’s leading expert. It will step up investment in creators and IP, enhance its data-driven management solutions, expand original content production, enter global markets including China, develop its advertising and commerce businesses, and recruit top talent in the industry.

The round drew significant attention, with a host of new investors joining existing Series C investor NVC Partners. They included Nexon Korea, KDB Industrial Bank, STIC Ventures, Q Capital Partners-JB Asset Management, IBK Industrial Bank, Samsung Venture Investment, and BSK Investment.

Lee Hyun-seok, a senior investment manager at STIC Ventures, which participated in the round, said, “We were drawn to Sandbox’s rapid revenue growth, improving profitability, and the most advanced business model among MCN companies. We expect its corporate value to continue rising, driven by revenue growth as the digital content market expands and improved margins as its business capabilities develop.”

Sandbox CEO Lee Pil-sung said, “I am grateful to all the institutions that believed in Sandbox’s potential and invested despite the broad downturn in investor sentiment due to COVID-19. This investment will help Sandbox build greater expertise, expand the creator-based business ecosystem, bring more enjoyment to viewers, and introduce the appeal of K-content to audiences around the world.”