May 08, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s YouTuber management startup Sandbox Network announced on Jan. 31 that it has closed its series C round having raised 25 billion won (US$27.75 million).

Sandbox Network is well-known for managing popular game YouTubers including Dotty, who is also the company’s chief creative officer, with over 2.2 million subscribers.

According to the startup, the investment was made by a consortium led by TBT -- a venture capital firm that received 99 billion won funds from Korean tech-giant Naver. Many institutional investors including Cresco Lake Partners, DS Asset and NVC Partners participated in Sandbox’s series C round.

“Up to now we have been mainly focusing on creating a sound environment as a leading multi-channel network firm in the industry. Now is the time for us to aggressively find new business models and contents with our creators and expand our presence overseas,” Sandbox CEO Lee Pil-sung said in a statement. “We will cooperate with our investors to show our potential.”

The recent funds came after Neptune Games invested 10 billion won in Sandbox in May last year. It has so far secured 40 billion won in total.

Established in June 2015, the company currently manages over 260 video content creating teams. Last year, the Korean startup’s sales stood at 28 billion won, while posting an operating loss of 2 billion won.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)