이 기사는 2022년 01월 21일 08:06 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Iconiq Capital, a US-based investment firm that serves some of the most influential people in Silicon Valley, has invested about 50 billion won ($42 million) in Smart Score, a South Korean golf service platform, industry sources said.

The investment valued the company at 800 billion won, more than tripled from 250 billion won in a previous funding round in April last year where NH Investment & Securities, Korea Development, Hyundai Motor and other investors participated, bringing it closer to unicorn status.

Iconiq Capital is a multifamily office that manages money for tech billionaire including Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, the chief executive and chief operating officers of Meta, formerly Facebook.

The US firm’s investments include cloud-based data warehousing startup Snowflake, gaming startup Roblox, cloud communication platform Twilio and messaging startup Sendbird.

Iconiq Capital’s investment in Smart Score is a bet on the company’s significant growth potential and its holistic golf platform.

Smart Score, founded in 2014, provides golf score management services and information on golf clubs across the country through its app. The app’s users were 2.6 million at the end of 2021, up more than 18% from 2.2 million six months ago. Its daily active users more than doubled in the past year to 150,000.

The company has expanded the business into golf booking and golf insurance services. Mergers and acquisitions are also its strategy for expansion, with the company acquiring golf apparel brand McKayson, golf gear retailer PurplePin, Golf Magazine Korea and King’s Rock Country Club in North Chungcheong Province.

Most recently, it acquired luxury golf brand Majesty Golf in the second half of last year in partnership with private equity investors.

Smart Score plans to expand into Southeast Asia this year and then further into Japan and North America. It intends to increase the company’s value by continuing to expand its revenue model and attracting more funds and go public eventually. (Reporting by Se-hun Jo)