Korea’s startup highlight typically gravitates towards AI software program and shopper platforms. But a quieter transformation is unfolding contained in the nation’s constructing upkeep market. Netform R&D’s pre-IPO funding, AI security acquisition plans, and collaboration with public analysis institutes sign one thing extra structural: Korea’s industrial legacy sectors have gotten investable expertise performs.
Netform R&D Secures Pre-IPO Capital and Expands Into AI Security
Netform R&D, a constructing upkeep and renovation expertise firm, has secured KRW 4 billion in pre-IPO funding with participation from enterprise capital agency We Ventures.
The corporate reported KRW 15.3 billion in income and KRW 5 billion in working revenue in 2025. Since its founding, it has maintained working margins above 25 % and achieved common annual income development of roughly 50 % over the previous three years.
Past capital, Netform R&D is repositioning itself. The corporate said that it plans to make use of pre-IPO funds for abroad growth and strategic M&A, with a concentrate on buying an AI-based security ICT startup. The supposed integration contains AI-driven security administration, danger prediction, and facility monitoring applied sciences.
Netform R&D is making ready for a KOSDAQ IPO in 2026 and beforehand chosen Samsung Securities as its lead underwriter.
A Deep-Tech Basis Constructed By means of ETRI and Company CVC Backing
Netform R&D’s trajectory has been bolstered by public analysis and company capital.
In late 2025, the corporate secured a strategic funding from ETRI Holdings, a expertise commercialization funding arm wholly funded by the Electronics and Telecommunications Analysis Institute (ETRI). The partnership facilities on AI-based paint high quality administration, together with quantifying adhesion traits that had historically relied on qualitative subject judgment.
Individually, the corporate acquired KRW 2 billion in strategic funding from Xplor Make investments, the company enterprise capital arm of GS Engineering & Development. The backing displays trade validation reasonably than speculative capital, as Netform R&D already provides over 80 self-developed merchandise to greater than 220 contractors nationwide.
The corporate additionally holds over 50 patents and licensed “new building applied sciences,” together with New Development Expertise No. 1026 for a sloped roof waterproofing and reinforcement technique below its proprietary POUR course of.
This isn’t a pre-revenue AI startup narrative. It’s a worthwhile industrial expertise firm layering AI into a longtime upkeep base.
Netform R&D: Verified Efficiency and Market Footprint
Netform R&D’s applied sciences have been utilized to greater than 2.1 million residence models cumulatively. In 2024 alone, its options have been utilized in over 550 residence complexes, in addition to army amenities, LH websites, and public establishments.
In 2025, renovation tasks utilizing its expertise have been carried out in 672 residence complexes nationwide. Greater than 230 contractors are presently utilizing its core strategies.
Korea’s constructing upkeep market is estimated at roughly KRW 25 trillion yearly. Structural drivers embody the growing inventory of ageing buildings, tightening security requirements, and the growth of ESG-based administration practices.
In opposition to that backdrop, the corporate’s AI integration technique aligns instantly with security regulation developments and lifecycle administration wants.
How Netform R&D Frames Its 2026 KOSDAQ and AI Growth Plans
An organization consultant said,
“We plan to boost our core applied sciences and increase our enterprise scope via the acquisition of an AI-based security expertise firm. With the purpose of making use of for itemizing assessment in 2026, we intention to develop right into a globally aggressive expertise firm.”
Relating to the ETRI collaboration, CEO Lee Seung-woo mentioned,
“By means of our ongoing collaboration with ETRI, we have now established a brand new paradigm for paint high quality analysis. We’ll increase our AI-based paint expertise to international markets going ahead.”
From the investor aspect, Xplor Funding famous that Netform R&D was evaluated extremely by way of technological functionality, profitability, and trade positioning when deciding on the strategic funding.
Korea’s ₩25T Constructing Upkeep Market Is Changing into a Tech Funding Thesis
The importance extends past a single firm.
First, this case illustrates how constructing MRO expertise in Korea is turning into a part of the broader industrial tech shift. Somewhat than constructing solely new digital markets, corporations are embedding AI into present, regulation-driven sectors with predictable demand.
Second, the funding combine is telling. The involvement of a nationwide analysis institute affiliate and a significant building group’s CVC indicators that Korea’s innovation ecosystem is just not solely software-driven. Public R&D establishments and industrial corporates are actively shaping the following wave of tech-enabled infrastructure companies.
Third, profitability precedes scaling on this case. In a world enterprise local weather that has turned cautious since 2022, Netform R&D’s sustained 25 percent-plus working margins and recurring demand base current a special mannequin from high-burn development startups.
For international buyers and founders, this factors to alternative in ageing constructing renovation tech in Korea. The market measurement, regulatory drivers, and public-private analysis infrastructure create an setting the place deep-tech industrial options can scale with much less volatility than shopper sectors.
Industrial Tech as Korea’s Second Progress Layer
Netform R&D’s deliberate AI security ICT acquisition and 2026 KOSDAQ IPO goal recommend a strategic try and reposition constructing upkeep as an built-in lifecycle administration platform.
If profitable, the corporate might reveal that Korea’s constructing upkeep market is just not merely a building afterthought however a technology-enabled companies layer with platform potential.
For worldwide founders exploring entry into Korea, this indicators that sectors tied to infrastructure, security, and compliance might supply clearer monetization paths than saturated shopper tech classes.
For policymakers and ecosystem architects, the case reinforces the significance of connecting nationwide analysis belongings reminiscent of ETRI with commercially disciplined operators.
Key Takeaways on Netform R&D’s Pre-IPO 2026
- Netform R&D secured KRW 4 billion in pre-IPO funding and is making ready for a 2026 KOSDAQ IPO.
- The corporate maintains over 25 % working margins with robust income development in Korea’s constructing upkeep market.
- Strategic backing contains ETRI Holdings and GS E&C’s CVC, linking public analysis and industrial capital.
- Deliberate acquisition of an AI security ICT startup indicators deeper integration of AI into constructing lifecycle administration.
- Korea’s estimated KRW 25 trillion constructing upkeep market is rising as a structured industrial tech alternative with regulatory and ESG tailwinds.
🤝 Seeking to join with verified Korean corporations constructing globally?
Discover curated firm profiles and request direct introductions via beSUCCESS Join.
– Keep Forward in Korea’s Startup Scene –
Get real-time insights, funding updates, and coverage shifts shaping Korea’s innovation ecosystem.
➡️ Comply with KoreaTechDesk on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Threads, Bluesky, Telegram, Fb, and WhatsApp Channel.
Elevate your perspective with NextTech Information, the place innovation meets perception.
Uncover the newest breakthroughs, get unique updates, and join with a world community of future-focused thinkers.
Unlock tomorrow’s developments right this moment: learn extra, subscribe to our e-newsletter, and change into a part of the NextTech neighborhood at NextTech-news.com
