Viva Republica

Viva Republica is a South Korean technology company active in lending, payment services, financial services and stock brokerage. It is the operator of the financial super-app Toss, which had over 20 million users in South Korea in 2021.[1] With a valuation of $7.4 billion, it was one of the most valuable unicorns in South Korea.[2]

Viva Republica
TypePrivate
IndustryFintech
Founded2014
FounderLee Seung-gun
Headquarters
Gangnam District, Seoul
,
South Korea
Area served
South Korea, Vietnam
Key people
Lee Seung-gun
(CEO)
Websitetoss.im/en

History

Toss was launched in 2014 as a peer-to-peer money transfer platform by the former dentist Lee Seung-gun after eight failed ventures.[3] Over time, more and more new services were offered on the platform, including loans, credit scores and personal investing.[2]

Altos Ventures was the first investor in 2014. Later PayPal, Sequoia China and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC also invested in the start-up.[3]

In 2018, the company became a unicorn after raising $80 million in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital.[4]

In 2020, Toss was launched in Vietnam, its first overseas expansion.[1]

In October 2020, Toss launched Toss Bank, a neobank.[5]

In June 2021, Viva Republica raised a further $410 million in a funding. Investors included Alkeon Capital and the Korea Development Bank.[1]

In November 2021, Viva Republica announced the acquisition of a majority stake in VCNC, which operates a ride-hailing service called Tada.[6]

References
  1. "Viva Republica, developer of Korean financial super app Toss, raises $410M at a $7.4B valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  2. Kang, John. "Former Dentist Becomes A Billionaire After Funding Round Boosts His Korean Fintech Startup". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  3. Gilchrist, Karen (2019-09-20). "This dentist built a $2 billion Korean start-up — after 8 failed businesses along the way". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  4. "Payment service Toss becomes Korea's newest unicorn after raising $80M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  5. "Korea's 3rd app-based bank Toss Bank kicks off amid loan bottleneck in Korea - Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea". pulsenews.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  6. "South Korea-based Viva Republica/Toss eyes ride-hailing expansion". thepaypers.com. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
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