SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--(Marketwired - Dec 6, 2013) - SparkLabs (www.sparklabs.co.kr), a startup accelerator in Korea, has selected its third class of companies. The nine companies participating in SparkLabs' program hailed from Seoul, Tokyo, San Francisco and Chicago.
"We are excited by the third class. The range of innovations are amazing from wearable devices to telecom to online gaming to medical devices. We only wish we could accept more companies. There were so many qualified companies that applied. We hope to see them again in the future," explained HanJoo Lee, Co-founder and General Partner of SparkLabs.
SparkLabs' nine companies in their third class are the following:
FeelU (Wearable device)
FeelU is a company based in Tokyo and focused on delivering cutting-edge, multi-sensory experiences to users. Their first product, RingU (ringu.mixedrealitylab.org), is an interactive ring with which you can give your boyfriend, girlfriend, or close ones a remote 'hug' no matter how far you may be from each other. The ring is connected to a corresponding private social network where you can send messages, photos, and videos in conjunction with the ring's physical 'hug'.
Flow State Media (Online gaming)
Flow State Media is a social/mobile game studio focused on creating high-quality, mass-market casual games across PC and mobile devices. Their core team of Zynga and MIT alumni have already released the hit word game "Letter UP", which has logged more than 1.5 million minutes of gameplay in just a few months time. They will be releasing a fresh take on social casino games in late 2013.
Freenters (Online service)
Freenters (www.freenters.com) provides free printing for college students. Over 70% of colleges do not provide free printing services, so they are launching in major campuses across the U.S. with an initial presence in the Chicago area.
Penta Press (Online photo marketplace)
Penta Press provides the first media platform in South Korea that collects image content and facilitates distribution to both domestic and foreign media organizations worldwide. Penta Press has distribution partnerships with Korea's Yeonhap news agency, Daum (Korea's second largest Internet portal), Japan's JiJi Press and other overseas media agencies. They have a larget network of professional photographers located in over 25 countries and expanding to become a "Getty Images of Asia."
Domo Bio (Medical device)
Domo Bio is a company based in Seoul and has a new medical device, SNR.X, created to combat sleep apnia and snoring. SNR.X has an innovative structure that makes it an easier fit for people with sleep apnia and snoring problems while focusing on their safety and comfort.
1Day 1Song (Online music)
1Day 1Song is a mobile music recommendation service where users can easily find music matching their taste through curation by music experts. It introduces one new artist everyday, where the copyright holder can promote his/her song effectively and where users can quickly find their favorite songs. It is currently available through Apple Appstore in Korea, and their plans are to expand into the rest of Asia.
PeopleWare (Online talent marketplace)
PeopleWare is new venture launched by CyWorld co-founder, Yong Hyoung. They are creating a marketplace between MVP (minimum viable product) projects and top engineers from Asia and elsewhere based on trusted networks.
Right Zip (Online rental marketplace)
Right Zip is a Palo Alto based startup founded by a senior data scientist from Twitter. Right Zip is a new entrant in the onlilne home rental space. They add efficient pricing to peer-to-peer renting with machine learning algorithms ensuring that visitors pay less when rooms sit empty and homeowners make more when rooms are scarce. You can sign up for their beta here.
RingCL (Backend as a Service)
RingCL is based in Seoul and is platform providing communication services for businesses who need versatile communication based on IP. It is a BaaS (Backend as a Service) that you can implement a mobile service only with API calls without setting up servers.
About SparkLabs
SparkLabs is a startup accelerator founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs in South Korea. The focus will be on startup companies from the Internet, online gaming, mobile, e-commerce, digital media and healthcare sectors. The mentorship-driven program will be three months in length and provides funding, office space, a structure program and access to a top-tier network of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and executives. SparkLabs seeks to contribute to and help develop South Korea and Asia's startup ecosystem. For more information, please visit www.sparklabs.co.kr
Contact Information:
Contact:
Bernard Moon
Co-founder
+1-650-454-5244