Tech funding nearly triples, but mega-rounds mask uneven recovery

Korea's tech funding nearly tripled year-on-year in the first half of 2026, but a handful of mega-rounds in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors accounted for an outsized share of the rebound, data showed Wednesday. Tech companies in Korea raised $1.4 billion in the first six months, up 195 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to Tracxn, a data intelligence platform for private market research. Funding increased across all stages. Seed investment rose 131 percent to $127 million, while early-stage funding climbed 112 percent to $639 million. Late-stage investment recorded the sharpest increase, rising 440 percent to $621million. But the headline figures mask a heavy concentration of capital in a small number of companies, particularly in AI-related sectors. Rebellions, a Korean AI chipmaker, raised $400 million in a Series D round in March, while semiconductor start-up XCENA secured $135 million in Series B funding in May. Together, the two rounds accounted for about 38 percent of all Korean tech funding in the first half. The deals helped push semiconductor f