SCON, a Korean VTuber entertainment startup, has secured a pre-series A investment of KRW 500 million from SM Culture Partners, the corporate venture capital arm of SM Entertainment. Previously, SCON received KRW 1 billion from QUAD Ventures in August of last year and KRW 500 million from SB Partners in November, concluding the Pre-Series A funding round with a total of KRW 2 billion. The raised funds are earmarked for acquiring new intellectual property rights and forming a new virtual YouTuber (VTuber) group.

Founded in 2018, SCON is a media tech startup specializing in solutions that facilitate live broadcasting with virtual 3D characters. While its primary applications include live commerce featuring brand characters, live broadcasting, video content production, and VTuber solutions, the startup is continuously expanding its reach into new areas.

Early last year, after establishing its own motion capture studio, SCON transitioned into a full-fledged virtual entertainment company by launching the domestic VTuber platform ‘meechu’. By the end of last year, revenues from VTuber IP had quintupled over the course of just one year. The international VTuber group ‘Blue Jump Project‘, led by ‘GreatMoonAroma‘ (who boasts approximately 1.01 million YouTube subscribers), has made successful forays into markets in Australia and Japan.

Equipped with its proprietary 3D content solution, SCON excels at producing high-quality content characterized by natural character movements and facial expressions. Recently, the company integrated optical motion capture equipment from VICON to enhance its real-time content production capabilities.

With the closure of its pre-series A round, SCON is poised to deepen its strategic partnership with SM Entertainment. The funds will be strategically used to break into the entertainment and international markets more aggressively by developing new VTuber IPs, supporting the growth of affiliated VTubers, fostering K-POP virtual idol groups, and recruiting global VTubers.

“We are seeing significant outcomes by harnessing various values and possibilities through 3D technology via character media,” stated Ki Joon-su, CEO of SCON. “This year, we’re shifting our emphasis from nurturing individual VTubers to developing groups,” he added. “The male virtual idol group AFOTS is set to make its debut in July of this year.”