Bemyfriends, a global fandom service based in South Korea, announced today that it has raised funding from U.S. venture capital firm Cleveland Avenue. 

In May of last year, Bemyfriends raised 33 billion won funding from Korean conglomerates and venture capital, including CJ, CJ Olive Networks, Saehan Startup Investment, GS Group, and DreamUS Company. With this new funding, the company has secured a total of 37.9 billion won in Series A round.

Cleveland Avenue is a Chicago-based venture capital founded in 2015 by Don Thompson, a former McDonald’s CEO. It has a portfolio of investments primarily in the food, beverage, foodtech, and entertainment industries, and has recently expanded its portfolio to lifestyle startups. Cleveland Avenue reportedly decided to invest in BeMyFriends based on the potential value of its business model, ‘fandom business’, technology, and management capabilities.

Led by co-founders Seo Woo-seok, who has achieved success in the global market with fandom platform Weverse, and Lee Ki-young, a fandom ecosystem expert who has worked at SKT and Dreamus Company, BeMyFriends aims to lead the global fandom market beyond K-POP. To this end, it has developed its own SaaS platform builder, ‘b.stage’, which builds fandom business infrastructure, and has been rapidly gaining customers since its global launch. 

In January, the company signed a strategic partnership with UTA (United Talent Agency), a large US talent agency, to spread its fandom business know-how globally. Based on Cleveland Avenue’s local network, BeMyFriends will expand its partnerships to various fields such as entertainment, sports, and lifestyle, further accelerating its US-based global business.

“We are excited to invest in BeMyFriends because of their global growth and scalability,” said Don Thompson, Managing Principal at Cleveland Avenue. “We believe their vision for the global marketplace and their in-fandom business is a great fit with our portfolio.”

“The fandom business is gaining traction not only in entertainment but also in various industries such as retail, gaming, and IT,” said Min-Koo Lee, Managing Partner of Cleveland Avenue. “We are pleased to partner with BeMyFriends, which is leading the global fandom business by launching a new concept solution based on its extensive experience and know-how. Beyond investment, we will actively partner with BeMyFriends to successfully promote the fandom business around the world.”

“Cleveland Avenue’s investment is a global recognition of our next-generation business model and potential,” said Woosuk Seo, co-founder and CEO of BeMyFriends. “BeMyFriends is composed of experts who are skilled in creating high added value through business expansion, from IT technology to fandom business strategy and planning to consulting. With this investment, we will secure customers in various industries in the U.S. and solidify our position as a leading global fandom business company.”