Korea might become the next big startup hub with its $4 billion food delivery acquisition

When we talk about startup hubs, the first name that comes to mind is the Silicon Valley in the USA. If we look further from the US, we have countries like China, India and Singapore which can also be very well called as the biggest startup hubs in the World. Also, there are other hubs for a startup such as Japan and Hong Kong. But we have simply ignored one country all this while which very well has the potential to become a startup hub and it is South Korea.

Yes, the entire world has basically ignored South Korea and its capital city of Seoul as being a top contender for being a startup hub. The reason why we are talking about South Korea becoming the next big startup hub is because of a new report. This report is regarding one of the country’s leading food delivery apps by the name of Baedal Minjok (typically shortened to Baemin). The food delivery company has revealed that they received an offer for acquisition by Berlin-based Delivery Hero for a whopping sum of $4 billion.

While it is known that there is an antitrust review pending before the acquisition takes place, it is still poised to become the largest exit of a startup from the Korean market. We are also aware that the Korean market remains dominated by specific companies such as Samsung but the country still has a growing startup culture which is all set to become a hub very soon. As far as the rise of Baemin is concerned, TechCrunch reveals that Baemin was just an app for chicken delivery with a cutesy and creative interface five years ago. Right now, the app is so big that we can see its delivery agents all over Seoul unlike any other. Apart from that, Baemin has installed speakers in many restaurants where a catchy whistle and the company’s name are announced every time there is an online delivery order.