HiteJinro Accelerates Startup Investments... Equity Stakes in Idyeon and Devhead

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] HiteJinro has made its second startup angel investment of the year.

HiteJinro announced on the 16th that it selected living tech company Idiyeon and sports quiz game company Devhead as investment targets and signed equity investment contracts on the 3rd and 10th, respectively.

HiteJinro began actively investing in startups this year. While considering investments centered not only on food and beverages but also on overall lifestyle, the company quickly decided to invest after highly evaluating the expertise and growth potential of the two companies in their respective fields.

Since being selected as the first corporate angel investor among domestic for-profit companies in October last year, HiteJinro has been striving to contribute to the development of the startup ecosystem by discovering startups and strengthening partnerships with related organizations. In May, it made its first equity investment in Appa Company, which selects, sells, and delivers carefully curated restaurant menus.

Idiyeon, which HiteJinro has recently signed an equity investment contract with, aims to become a creative living tech company in the smart home sector and is preparing to launch new products such as diffusers and cleansers following its flagship product, the cork speaker. Devhead, which provides a ‘sports quiz game’ service simultaneously with watching sports games, is preparing to launch a baseball game service in July based on solid development capabilities and plans to expand the service to various sports disciplines in the future.

Huh Jae-gyun, Executive Director of the New Business Development Team, said, “We plan to continuously secure new growth engines by building a diverse investment portfolio,” adding, “We will expand investments not only in domestic companies but also in overseas startups and startups aiming to enter overseas markets.”

Meanwhile, HiteJinro signed an investment contract with The Ventures in 2018, the first in the liquor industry, and opened a shared office called New Block in its Seocho-dong headquarters building, where it operates various accelerating programs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.