New Paradigm Pre-A Investment in Outdoor Startup 'R&One'

Operating Community App 'Fairplay'
Spotlight on MZ Generation as a Sports Community
Expanding Services to Tourism and Insurance Products

New Paradigm Investment, a TIPS operator under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, announced on the 7th that it has made a Pre-A investment in R&One, a startup operating the outdoor platform PAIRPLAY.

R&One officially launched the outdoor community application PAIRPLAY in January 2021. PAIRPLAY forms an outdoor exercise community centered on the MZ generation through its location-based exercise group features.

(Photo from left) Baesangseung, Co-CEO of New Paradigm Investment, Kim Jeonghwan, Director of R&One, Kwon Yonggeun, CEO, Dohyeongho, Vice President, Park Jehyeon, Co-CEO of New Paradigm Investment.

Within a year and a half of its launch, the accumulated number of users reached approximately 60,000, and 20,000 outdoor activity groups were created. It has received positive responses by accumulating 50,000 user-generated outdoor-related contents (UGC).

Earlier this year, R&One expanded its service area by signing a business agreement with Kakao Mobility. The 'Peple Shuttle,' a hiking, walking travel, and wellness activity tourism product that travels across the country, is available not only on the PAIRPLAY app but also on the KakaoT app.

They also signed a business agreement with the global insurance company AIG to provide specialized insurance products for users who enjoy outdoor activities.

The domestic outdoor clothing market is a massive 7 trillion KRW market. The wellness activity market is expected to reach a total size of 44 trillion KRW by 2025. The outdoor market, once considered exclusive to middle-aged and older generations, is experiencing a golden age with the influx of the MZ generation.

Park Je-hyun, co-CEO of New Paradigm, said, "R&One is expected to establish itself as a leader in the outdoor industry by focusing on accumulated outdoor content and community-based commerce."

R&One CEO Kwon Yong-geun stated, "The funds secured through this investment will be used for talent recruitment and marketing activities," adding, "PAIRPLAY’s unique strategy, which connects content, experience, community, and commerce, will act as a powerful growth flywheel and create synergy."

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