NAVER Z Valuation, Funding & Investors

NAVER Z is valued at $1B as of November 2021.

Last NAVER Z valuation

$1B

Series B · Nov 2021

Last NAVER Z funding round

$4M

Strategic investment · Feb 2022

Cumulative funding NAVER Z raised

$208M

across 4 funding rounds

NAVER Z Overview

About NAVER Z

NAVER Z is a South Korean technology company operating ZEPETO, a metaverse platform with over 400 million registered users that enables creation of customizable 3D avatars using facial recognition, AR, and AI technologies. Founded by Naver through its Snow subsidiary and spun off in 2020, the platform allows users to design avatars, explore virtual worlds, create and sell digital fashion items, livestream, and socialize across age, gender, and geographic boundaries.


Founded

2018

HQ

South KoreaSeongnam

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2C

Revenue model

Product sales, Advertising, Subscription

Valuation

$1B (Nov 2021)

NAVER Z Valuation

NAVER Z is currently valued at $1B, based on its Series B in November 2021.

The $189M round was led by SoftBank Group, with participation from Mirae Asset, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, Naver Webtoon and HYBE.

NAVER Z valuation by funding round

NAVER Z valuation by funding round
DateStageValuation
Nov 2021Series B$1B

NAVER Z Funding History

NAVER Z has raised a total of $208M across 4 funding rounds.

NAVER Z's first fundraising round was a $11M seed round in October 2020. The most recent completed round was a $4M strategic investment round in February 2022.

NAVER Z funding rounds

NAVER Z funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Feb 2022Strategic investmentKrafton (lead)$4M--
Nov 2021Series BSoftBank Group (lead); Mirae Asset; JYP Entertainment; YG Entertainment; Naver Webtoon; HYBE$189M$1BNaver Z Corporation, the South Korea-based operator of the Zepeto metaverse platform launched in 2018, secured approximately $189-190 million in a Series B funding round around November 29-December 2021, led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 with about $148-150 million, alongside investors including Mirae Asset, Naver Webtoon, and K-pop agencies HYBE, JYP Entertainment, and YG Entertainment. The investments, totaling 223.5 billion Korean won, were earmarked for global service expansion and talent recruitment. Zepeto enables users to create 3D avatars, interact in virtual worlds, attend events, and purchase digital items, positioning it as a leading virtual fashion marketplace with collaborations from brands like Gucci, Dior, Nike, Ralph Lauren, and K-pop groups such as Blackpink, ITZY, and SF9. The round valued Naver Z at approximately $1 billion post-money, as reported in connection with SoftBank's lead investment that elevated the platform's valuation above this threshold. At the time, Zepeto boasted a registered user base of 240-290 million, with 90% international users primarily teens aged 13-24, over 2 million daily active users, and monthly active users around 20 million, roughly doubled since early 2020. Naver Z also announced a joint venture ZEP with game developer SUPERCAT for a metaverse virtual office solution and committed to a $446 million fund via Korelya Capital to support content creators and game studios using its Unity plugin for 2D/3D content on Zepeto, amid competition from platforms like Roblox. The funding aligns with broader metaverse investments, including SoftBank's support for The Sandbox shortly prior.
Nov 2020Series AJYP Entertainment (lead)$5M-NAVER Z, the provider of the online augmented reality avatar service Zepeto, secured investment totaling 1.2 billion won ($10 million) from entertainment companies including JYP Entertainment around November 2020. NAVER Z announced it expects to receive KRW 4.999 billion from JYP Entertainment Corporation, published on 11/05/2020. Zepeto has evolved into a social media platform with 180 million total users and over 900 million pieces of user-created content by late 2020. The company signed partnership deals with Nike and Disney since May 2020, expanding into fashion and entertainment content.
Oct 2020SeedYG Entertainment; HYBE$11M-NAVER Z, operator of the Zepeto metaverse platform launched in 2018, secured a 12 billion KRW investment from Big Hit (now HYBE) and YG Entertainment around October 2020 to expand content in fashion and entertainment. This followed prior funding and preceded a larger Series B round of 223.5 billion KRW (about $189 million) in December 2021 led by SoftBank with participation from Mirae Asset, Naver Webtoon, JYP, YG Entertainment, and HYBE. Zepeto had over 240 million total users by late 2021, with 90% international and 80% teens, and monthly active users doubling to 20 million since early 2020. The platform collaborated with brands like Gucci, Dior, Nike, and Ralph Lauren for virtual collections, and K-pop groups Blackpink, ITZY, and SF9 for metaverse events. In 2021, NAVER Z formed a $100 million metaverse fund to support game studios and reward Zepeto creators based on user engagement metrics. HYBE later held a 3.4% stake valued at 19.4 billion KRW as of 2025.

Who has invested in NAVER Z?

7 investors have backed NAVER Z across its funding rounds, including HYBE, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, SoftBank Group, Mirae Asset and Krafton.

Lead investors include Krafton, SoftBank Group and JYP Entertainment.


NAVER Z Investors

Investors in NAVER Z by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
JYP EntertainmentSouth KoreaSeoul2LeadNov 2020
YG EntertainmentSouth KoreaSeoul2ParticipantOct 2020
HYBESouth KoreaLos Angeles, CA2ParticipantOct 2020
Mirae AssetSouth KoreaSeoul1ParticipantNov 2021
KraftonSouth KoreaBangalore1LeadFeb 2022

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Investments by NAVER Z

NAVER Z has invested in 9 companies to date.

Latest investment by NAVER Z was on July 21st 2023. NAVER Z invested in Superblock in their $8M Series A round.


Latest Investments by NAVER Z

Superblock
GoodGang Labs
Cinamon
Rokoko
Description
-
GoodGang Labs is a Seoul-based developer of avatar communication platforms integrated into metaverse environments for games and services. The technology enables expressive digital identities with revenue opportunities through passions and talents. Team members bring over a decade of experience from Meta, Naver, Line, Snow, and Seerslab on AR, avatar, and community projects. Deployments span multiplayer games and virtual events worldwide.
-
Rokoko is a motion capture and animation platform comprising hardware, Rokoko Studio software, and Motion Library marketplace powered by machine learning. Montreal-headquartered, it serves creators including Netflix, Sony, Disney, and Microsoft, with expanding applications in health and sports.
HQ CountrySouth KoreaSingaporeSouth KoreaDenmark
HQ City
-
Singapore
-
Copenhagen
Deal Date21 Jul 202324 May 202321 Sep 202217 Aug 2022
RoundSeries ASeedSeedUndisclosed stage
Raised$8M$2M$10M$3M
InvestorsSchmidt; Springcamp; DSC Investment; E&Investment; Netmarble; SKPlanetarium; Line Next; Kim Gisa Lab; Kakao InvestmentKrafton; Snow CorporationNorth-East Venture; Thomas Visti; VF Venture; Brett Bibby
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed$80M
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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NAVER Z Competitors

NAVER Z competitors include listed companies like Appier Group and Rackspace, and private ones like Altana, Augury, Beamery and Collate.

Public and private companies comparable to NAVER Z
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
AltanaUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate-$564M$1B-
AuguryUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate$100M-$1B-
BeameryUnited KingdomLondonPrivate--$1B-
CollateUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$1B-
Appier GroupJapanJapanPublicly listed$281M$44M$1B2.9x
RackspaceUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$2.7B$244M$997M1.6x

NAVER Z Public Comps

NAVER Z is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Appier Group, Rackspace, Extreme Vision, iFLYHealth, MNC Digital Entertainment, Nextdoor, HTC, Rezolve AI, Beijing CTJ Info Tech and Optasia.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Appier Group$281M$44M3.4x2.9x21.6x15.7x
Rackspace$2.7B$244M1.5x1.6x17.1x15.0x
Extreme Vision$44M($6M)22.8x11.6x(163.7x)-
iFLYHealth$136M($7M)7.7x6.2x(150.8x)(144172.5x)
MNC Digital Entertainment$216M$73M4.7x-14.0x-
Nextdoor$258M($69M)2.4x2.2x(8.8x)27.8x
HTC$91M$22M6.8x6.9x27.7x(6.2x)
Rezolve AI$47M($109M)23.3x4.0x(10.0x)(19.3x)

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Common questions about NAVER Z

When was NAVER Z founded?NAVER Z was founded in 2018.
Where is NAVER Z headquartered?NAVER Z is headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea.
Is NAVER Z publicly listed?No, NAVER Z is a private, VC-backed company.
What is NAVER Z's valuation?NAVER Z was last valued at $1B in its Series B in November 2021.
How much funding has NAVER Z raised?NAVER Z has raised $208M across 4 funding rounds.
What was NAVER Z's last funding round?NAVER Z's last funding round was a $4M strategic investment round in February 2022, led by Krafton.
Who are NAVER Z's investors?NAVER Z's investors include JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, HYBE, Mirae Asset, Krafton, SoftBank Group and Naver Webtoon.
Which companies are comparable to NAVER Z?Companies comparable to NAVER Z include Altana, Augury, Beamery, Collate, Appier Group and Rackspace.
How many companies has NAVER Z invested in?NAVER Z has invested in 9 companies, including Superblock, GoodGang Labs, Cinamon, Rokoko, Line Next, WE-AR, UModeler and Muffle.
What was NAVER Z's last investment?In July 2023, NAVER Z invested in Superblock's $8M Series A alongside Schmidt, Springcamp, DSC Investment and 3 other investors.

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