April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korean insurtech startup Zikto said on May 30 that its initial coin offering has raised 20 billion won (US$18.50 million) during presale and private sale stages over the past month -- more than double its earlier target price.

As all the tokens have sold out, the firm said it has cancelled the coin’s public sale planned to be held on the day.

“The tokens sold out earlier than expected as many institutional investors and insurance firms who recognized our potential actively joined the presale,” CEO and CFO David Suh said in a statement. “We will use the funds to ramp up efforts for the development of the Insureum platform and related insurance products.” 

Zikto launched the Insureum token in April with aims to develop the blockchain-based Insureum Protocol platform that connects insurers, consumers and third-party solution developers to trade insurance-related data more easily but securely.

Under its development roadmap, the firm said it plans to launch new diverse insurance products within the year in partnership with major insurance firms.

In a separate funding early this month, the firm secured a 500 million won investment from The Wells Investment, a local venture capital firm specialized in health care and biotech.

Zikto, established in 2014, is best known for its Zikto Walk wearable device and data integration platform The Challenge. More recently, the firm has been venturing into the burgeoning insurtech market with its planned Insureum platform. It was the first Korean startup to raise US$165,000 funds through the US crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in 2014.

US cryptocurrency security firm BitGo CEO Will O’Brien and Lee Chan-woo, professor of Kookmin University and former CIO at National Pension Service, recently joined the firm’s 13-member advisory board to offer consultations on a regular basis.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)