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Can you map the global startup technology investments of Amore Pacific over the past 5 years?
Greetings! Thank you for your inquiry regarding the investments by AmorePacific in global startup technologies over the past 5 years. The brief answer is that over the past 5 years AmorePacific Ventures, the venture capital arm of AmorePacific, has invested $93.7 million in 6 companies. $78.1 million was invested in companies in the North American region, and $15.61 million was invested in companies in the Asia-Pacific region. A summary of these findings, which came from corporate websites, trusted media sites, and industry reports, can be find on this spreadsheet. It contains information broken down by company, amount of funding, type of funding, and region.
Thank you for the opportunity to research this topic. Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
A general search revealed that AmorePacific Ventures is the investing arm of AmorePacific. Searching AmorePacific Ventures on Crunchbase.com, we located a detailed list of all investments made by the organization over the past 5 years. From there we consulted corporate websites and news articles for additional information on each of the companies.
BACKGROUND ON AMOREPACIFIC VENTURES
AmorePacific Ventures is the venture capital arm of the AmorePacific Group. Being a beauty company, they are interested in helping companies take their cutting edge discoveries and create novel beauty and health products. They will invest in early as well as late stage opportunities. In their marketing material, they identify several areas of focus including hair, obesity, and beauty food. There is only one focus mentioned that specifically focuses on technology--"Platform Technology". This can include nano technologies, novel formulations, and emerging biotechnologies such as stem cells.
INVESTMENTS
According to Crunchbase, AmorePacific Ventures has made 6 investments in 6 different companies over the last 5 years. All 6 of these companies are developing products in the platform technology arena. The details are organized in this spreadsheet for your convenience. During this time period, AmorePacific Ventures also had one exit when Obalon Therapeutics had its IPO on September 9, 2016. The valuation was an undisclosed amount according to Crunchbase.
Below is a brief description of each of the 6 companies who received funding from AmorePacific Ventures and their technology.
Elastagen is working on platform technology that has potential applications for skin rejuvenation, scar remodeling, and tissue repair. Elastagen is based in Australia but has expanded its production to Europe and its clinical operations into the UK.
WayWearable develops wearable devices for skin care. According to one news report, it's a blend of IoT and skincare analytics. It provides personal, ongoing skincare advice throughout the day.
TRIA Beauty's product in development is a "light-based therapeutic beauty system". It performs at-home hair removal using diode lasers. Its products are offered through retailers in several states throughout the United States.
Brickell Biotech is a pharmaceutical company that develops cutting-edge treatments for skin disease. Currently they are working on molecular treatments for conditions such as acne.
Obalon has developed a "swallowable intragastric balloon system". It is intended to provide temporary (up to 6 months) assistance in weight loss.
Neothetics is working on biotechnology for aesthetic medicine, specifically injectable treatments that can be used for "selective fat tissue reduction".
NEW INCUBATOR PROGRAM
At the end of 2016 AmorePacific teamed up with FuturePlay to start a new incubator intended to nurture startups in the beauty and healthcare industries. Called AP TechUP+, applications were open Nov. 2-Dec. 18, 2016. With the incubator model, they hope to be able to make more "timely investments in ever-evolving markets and technologies" than they can through direct investments in startups. The first class has yet to be announced.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, a summary of AmorePacific Venture's investments over the last 5 years can be found on this spreadsheet. They invested $93.71 million in 6 companies in 2 regions (APAC and North America) and have recently started an incubator.
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