Coupang, the South Korean e-commerce giant led by billionaire Bom Kim, made a rare investment in a startup, leading a 4.5 billion won (about $3.5 million) Series A round in Seoul-based video chat app Episoden.
Other investors in the round, which closed last month, are South Korean venture capital firm Xquared (whose portfolio companies include crypto exchange operator Dunamu and Musinsa, a fashion marketplace backed by Sequoia Capital and KKR) and existing investor Primer Sazze (an early investor in SK-backed AI startup Upstage and Miso, a home services app and Forbes Asia 100 to Watch alum). Episoden declined to disclose the valuation of the round.
Founded in 2021, Episoden’s website and namesake app allow users to video chat one-on-one with people who are looking to practice their English. The video chat service says it has more than 200,000 users across 165 countries. The startup currently does not generate revenue but might offer a premium subscription service and sell advertisements next year.
When asked why Coupang invested in Episoden, a spokesperson for the e-commerce giant said: “Coupang began as a startup solving customer problems and has become a role model for many startups by listing on the [New York Stock Exchange], a symbol of the global capital market. As a seasoned startup, we aim to invest in high-potential startups, providing both financial support and sharing our customer-centric culture and growth experiences as a long-term partner to help them grow into companies that solve customer problems on a global scale.” The Coupang spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions about the investment.
Hyunmo Yang, founder and CEO of Episoden, says his startup and Coupang both share the same customer-centric culture. “Coupang always thinks about customer satisfaction and they expect this ‘wow,’ and they think Episoden can do that,” Yang says in a video interview.
Yang says he was connected to Coupang at Primer Sazze’s Demo Day and he doesn’t have a specific plan yet for potential partnerships with his new investor, whose main businesses are e-commerce and food delivery in South Korea.
People use Episoden because it’s a safe space, according to Yang. Before being matched over video call, users are screened by Episoden employees to make sure they adhere to the platform’s community guidelines, which include rules on clothing, behavior and English proficiency. Users are turned away if they appear nude or in underwear, or if they can only speak a “low level” of English. “I want only good people using Episoden,” says Yang.
Yang thinks Episoden can use the relatively safe space it has created to expand into social media. “They first meet on Episoden, talk two or three times and then they may trust each other. Eventually, they might meet,” he says.
“I think Episoden is not just an English-language practice platform,” he adds. “Episoden can be a new type of social media.”
