75% of First-Generation Investment Goes to Big Deals in First Half… 91% of Seed Funds Flow into 'AI & Robotics'
Date
Jun 25, 2026
Classification
- Startups
#
- Investment/Funding
Author
Approximately 75% of early-round investment in the first half of 2026 was concentrated in the top 10% of large rounds. Sector concentration intensified as 91% of seed investment flowed into AI and robotics. Semiconductor mega-deals, such as Dinotisia (90 billion won) and Bose Semiconductor (87 billion won), led the trend.
The polarization in the domestic early-stage startup investment market, where funds are concentrated in a few large deals and the AI and robotics sectors, has become even more pronounced in the first half of this year.
Large rounds exceeding 10 billion won account for 10% of the total number of deals but 75% of the total value.
According to data compiled by TheVC, large-scale rounds of over 10 billion won accounted for only about 10% of early-stage (Seed to Series A) investments by domestic unlisted startups and SMEs through May of this year, but they comprised nearly 75% of the total early-stage investment amount. Notable big deals include AI semiconductor startup Dinoticia raising 90 billion won in Series A funding and Boss Semiconductor raising 87 billion won in Series A funding.
91% of seed funding goes to AI and robotics… 4 mega-seed firms absorb 73% of the total
The concentration was even more pronounced at the seed stage. Through May, 63 out of 149 seed investments (42%) were in the AI and robotics sector, and in terms of seed investment amount, the share of AI and robotics reached 91%. The four companies that secured 131 billion won in seed funding—including Asteromorph and Config Intelligence, which raised over 40 billion won; RealWorld, a physical AI company, which raised 39 billion won; and Pensieve, an AI scoring platform that received 10 billion won from US VCs—accounted for 73% of the total 177.9 billion won in seed investments this year.
Concerns over 'investment gap' period...
As capital concentrates on top-tier deals and specific sectors, it is becoming relatively difficult for mid-stage companies—which need to increase investment in personnel and technology after proving demand with their products—to raise funds. Concerns have been raised both within and outside the venture industry that if the top tier is dominated by certain sectors, it could lead to market distortions, and that there are instances in the field where non-AI companies are being pushed to lower priority.
Although the early-stage investment market showed signs of recovery in the first half of the year, the momentum was concentrated on large deals and AI and robotics. As the concentration of capital becomes more structured, the gap between companies with proven technology and clear revenue models and those without is likely to widen further.
#StartupInvestment #EarlyStageInvestmentPolarization #AIRobotics #MegaSeed #DeepTech
[Advertisement]
Collaboration Proposals / Business Inquiries: hello@startlounge.kr
IR/Pitch deck manufacturing inquiries: hello@pitchmound.kr
IR/Pitch deck manufacturing inquiries: hello@pitchmound.kr
Everything about startups . Start Lounge - Launch Pad 「Lunch Pad」
ⓒ 2026. Start lounge. All rights reserved.
