Memebox Funding, Investors & Competitors

Memebox has raised $225M across 9 funding rounds, most recently a $10M undisclosed-stage round in March 2026.

Last Memebox funding round

$10M

Undisclosed stage · Mar 2026

Cumulative funding Memebox raised

$225M

across 9 funding rounds

Key investors in Memebox

  • Pear VC
  • Goodwater Capital
  • FundersClub
  • Altos Ventures
  • Amasia
  • Cowboy Ventures
  • Y Combinator
  • Cota Capital

Memebox Overview

About Memebox

Memebox Corporation is a Seoul-headquartered beauty company distributing K-beauty products globally through us.memebox.com. It develops private-label cosmetics inspired by Asian trends, including sheet masks, serums, and makeup kits sold in the US, Europe, and Asia.


Founded

2012

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Product sales

Memebox Funding History

Memebox has raised a total of $225M across 9 funding rounds.

Memebox's first fundraising round was a $500K seed round in December 2013. The most recent completed round was a $10M undisclosed-stage round in March 2026.

Memebox funding rounds

Memebox funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Mar 2026Undisclosed stageASQ (lead)$10M-
Jul 2025Series AGoodwater Capital (lead); Pear VC; 8VC; Cota Capital; Altos Ventures$7MMBX (formerly Memebox), a K-beauty company, raised $6.5 million in additional funding through a convertible note structure led by Goodwater Capital, with participation from Altos Ventures, Pear VC, Cota Capital, and 8VC. This round brings the company's total funding to $227 million. The capital will fund U.S. retail expansion, a partnership with SiliconTwo, and growth into South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Over the past two years, MBX has achieved EBITDA-based profitability.
Jan 2019Series DJohnson & Johnson Innovation (lead); Amasia$40MMemebox, a San Francisco-based K-beauty company founded in Seoul in 2012, closed a Series D funding round of approximately $35-39.5 million led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJDC), with participation from investors including Formation Group, Goodwater Capital, and Amasia. This round brought the company's total funding to around $190 million. Memebox, a Y Combinator 2014 graduate, originally launched as a beauty box subscription service focused on Korean beauty products but pivoted to a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model and later emphasized data-driven consumer insights and Korean technology to develop its own brands. The company operates an online platform selling K-beauty products like lip gloss, balm, makeup, and face masks to customers in the US, China, and Taiwan, with corporate outposts in Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Its portfolio includes private-label brands such as I Dew Care, Kaja, Nooni, Pony Effect, I'M MEME, and Shineasyglam. The funding aims to accelerate growth, fuel innovation, invest in digital development, R&D, partnerships with manufacturing and retail, and expand globally by leveraging JJDC's scientific expertise and capabilities. Memebox positions itself as a digital-native brand predicting consumer needs with a scientific approach to create next-generation personal care products beyond traditional beauty. Prior rounds included a $126 million Series C in 2016 with Goodwater Capital, Formation Group, and others, a $66 million initial Series C tranche, $17.5 million Series B in 2015, and earlier funding from investors like Altos Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Pear, and Y Combinator.
Dec 2016Series CGoodwater Capital (lead); Formation Group; Pear VC; Castanea; FundersClub; Cota Capital; Altos Ventures; Mousse Partners; Amasia; Cowboy Ventures$60MMemebox, a San Francisco-based Korean beauty e-commerce company founded in 2012 by CEO Hyungseok Dino Ha, raised $60 million in a Series C funding round announced in December 2016, led by Goodwater Capital with participation from Altos Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Mousse Partners, Formation Group, FundersClub, Pear Ventures, Cota Capital, and Janet Gurwitch. This brought total funding to $160 million, following prior rounds including $70 million Series A and a $66 million Series C tranche in August 2016 led by Formation Group with Goodwater and Pejman Mar Ventures, totaling about $95 million to date then. The funds supported streamlining mobile shopping (already 88% of global transactions), developing a beauty ingredients database, building global operations, launching in-house brands, and expanding internationally, particularly in China where it held significant market share alongside Korea. Traction included a $150 million annual GMV run rate with 280% year-over-year growth as of August 2016, driven by global K-beauty demand fueled by K-pop and dramas, with over 1,200 Korean products available. The company was not yet profitable but aimed for profitability the following year. In 2016, Memebox attracted 143 billion KRW (~$125 million USD equivalent) in total funding, mostly from U.S. VCs, leading Korean startups in single-round investment with 73 billion KRW from Formation Group and Goodwater in August. Advisory support came from new board addition Janet Gurwitch, Laura Mercier founder, for brand strategy and retail partnerships, alongside her Dollar Shave Club role. Later developments included a $35 million Series D, but no valuation details for the specified round. Memebox positioned as a next-generation personal care brand builder in the booming K-beauty sector.
Aug 2016Series CFormation Group (lead); Pear VC; Goodwater Capital; Amasia$66MMemebox is a Korean beauty e-commerce platform founded in 2012 by CEO Hyungseok Dino Ha, headquartered in San Francisco and specializing in curated beauty products, particularly from Korea, with a focus on mobile shopping. The company's early funding included $70 million in Series A and $17.5 million in Series B (March 2015), culminating in a Series C round announced in August 2016 led by Formation Group with participation from Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Mousse Partners, Pear Ventures, Cota Capital, Funders Club, and advisory board member Janet Gurwitch (founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier). Over 88 percent of the company's global online transactions occurred through its mobile app, reflecting its mobile-first strategy targeting consumers aged 18-24, with most revenue coming from China and the US. The company was not yet profitable at the time of the Series C, but management stated they were aiming for profitability within the following year and planned to use the funding to streamline the mobile shopping experience, develop a database of beauty ingredients, and build global operations.
Mar 2015Series BPear VC; Y Combinator; AME Cloud Ventures; Formation 8; Goodwater Capital; FundersClub; Winklevoss Capital; Boon Hwee Koh; Altos Ventures; Amasia; Cowboy Ventures; HKB Capital$29MMemebox is a Seoul-based e-commerce startup specializing in Korean beauty products, capitalizing on the 'Korean Wave' popularity in Asia and beyond. It offers cosmetics and skin care items, including its own private label, marketed through partnerships with YouTube beauty influencers like Pony, whose collaborative product sold out 25,000 units in 40 minutes. The company operates mobile apps that drive 80% of transactions and is expanding logistics and private label offerings. In March 2015, Memebox closed a $17.5 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $29.35 million including a previously unannounced Series A. Investors in this round included Formation 8, Goodwater Capital, AME Cloud Ventures, Pejman Mar Ventures (noted in some summaries), Y Combinator (where it was a top startup in the prior cohort), Winklevoss Capital, FundersClub, Cowboy Ventures, and Altos Ventures, matching the query's listed participants. The funds are earmarked for operational expansion in South Korea, the U.S., and China, with upgrades to mobile apps, private label growth, and logistics improvements.
Jul 2014Series APaul Pressler; Pear VC; Suleman Ali; Tekton Ventures; Formation 8; Accelerate Fund; Goodwater Capital; Signatures Capital; FundersClub; Altos Ventures; Pegasus Tech Ventures; Cowboy Ventures$12MMemebox raised $11.9 million in a funding round around early 2014 from investors including Accelerate Fund, Altos Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Formation 8, FundersClub, Goodwater Capital, Paul Pressler, Pear VC, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Signatures Capital, Suleman Ali, and Tekton Ventures. The company, founded in 2012 by Hyungseok Dino Ha, operated as a Korean beauty subscription box service delivering curated K-beauty products. Memebox had already secured a prior $1.5 million round and gained 10,000 U.S. customers despite minimal marketing there. It became the first Korean company accepted into Y Combinator's 2014 batch to support U.S. expansion. Memebox planned to launch its own branded products and scale operations significantly in the U.S.
Mar 2014SeedPear VC; Y Combinator; Sangwook Jin; Sunghyun So; FundersClub; Hyunjoon Park; SparkLabs Global Ventures$800K-
Dec 2013SeedSparkLabs Accelerator; Sangbeom Kim; Chester Roh; SparkLabs Global Ventures$500K-

Who has invested in Memebox?

32 investors have backed Memebox across its funding rounds, including Pear VC, Goodwater Capital, FundersClub, Altos Ventures, Amasia and Cowboy Ventures.

Lead investors include ASQ, Goodwater Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Formation Group.


Memebox Investors

Investors in Memebox by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Pear VCUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA6ParticipantMar 2014
Goodwater CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA5LeadJul 2014
FundersClubUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4ParticipantMar 2014
Altos VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4ParticipantJul 2014
AmasiaUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA4ParticipantMar 2015
Cowboy VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3ParticipantJul 2014
Formation GroupUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2LeadAug 2016
Y CombinatorUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantMar 2014
Formation 8United StatesUnited States2ParticipantJul 2014
Cota CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantDec 2016
SparkLabs Global VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2ParticipantDec 2013
Paul PresslerUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantJul 2014
SparkLabs AcceleratorSouth KoreaSeoul1ParticipantDec 2013

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Memebox Competitors

Memebox competitors include listed companies like Lenskart, Alibaba Group and Carvana, and private ones like Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, GP Club and KKW Beauty.

Public and private companies comparable to Memebox
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
LenskartIndiaIndiaPublicly listed$916M$189M$12B11.6x
Lush Fresh Handmade CosmeticsUnited KingdomPoolePrivate--$1.5B-
GP ClubSouth KoreaSeoulPrivate--$1.3B-
KKW BeautyUnited StatesLos Angeles, CAPrivate$100M-$1B10.0x
Alibaba GroupChinaChinaPublicly listed$153B$15B$266B1.6x
CarvanaUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$20B($110M)$72B2.9x

Memebox Public Comps

Memebox is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Amazon, Tencent, AbbVie, Procter & Gamble, Alibaba Group, L'Oreal, Novo Nordisk, Unilever, Pinduoduo and MercadoLibre.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Amazon$717B$161B3.9x3.5x17.5x13.8x
Tencent$112B$51B4.5x4.2x9.9x9.9x
AbbVie$61B$17B8.7x8.1x30.6x17.6x
Procter & Gamble$87B$24B4.2x4.2x15.4x15.6x
Alibaba Group$153B$15B1.7x1.6x17.5x13.0x
L'Oreal$51B$12B4.9x4.6x20.9x19.4x
Novo Nordisk$48B$23B4.2x4.3x8.8x8.8x
Unilever$58B$12B2.9x2.8x13.6x12.4x

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Common questions about Memebox

When was Memebox founded?Memebox was founded in 2012.
Where is Memebox headquartered?Memebox is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Is Memebox publicly listed?No, Memebox is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Memebox raised?Memebox has raised $225M across 9 funding rounds.
What was Memebox's last funding round?Memebox's last funding round was a $10M undisclosed-stage round in March 2026, led by ASQ.
Who are Memebox's investors?Memebox's investors include Pear VC, Goodwater Capital, FundersClub, Altos Ventures, Amasia, Cowboy Ventures, Formation Group, Y Combinator, Formation 8, Cota Capital and 22 others.
Which companies are comparable to Memebox?Companies comparable to Memebox include Lenskart, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, GP Club, KKW Beauty, Alibaba Group and Carvana.

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