WeWork Labs Korea Successfully Helps 130 Member Startups Since Launching in June 2018

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--(Korea Newswire)--WeWork - a global network of space, community and services - announced its continued contribution to the local startup ecosystem by nurturing early-stage startups through its global startup innovation program ‘WeWork Labs’ in Korea.

Since the inception of WeWork Labs Korea in June 2018, it has accomplished noteworthy milestones, serving over 130 companies to date. WeWork Labs currently operates in 4 locations in Korea, including WeWork Yeouido Station, WeWork Yeoksam Station II, WeWork Seolleung, and WeWork Seolleung II.

Notable WeWork Labs members enrolled in our program include Freshcode, winner of 2019 Creator Awards Seoul and startup dedicated in changing the eating culture of Korea which successfully raised a 1 million USD seed funding, Alliez (subsidiary of AXIS), a creative collective platform; part WeWork Labs member part WeWork member, Kono, an AI-based scheduling platform, Envisible, a coding education and edutainment center, AweXome Ray, an LED-based next-gen x-ray technology developer which raised a 1 million USD seed funding, MyBox, a storage rental service provider which also expanded to Hong Kong, and Melixir, the first Korean 100% vegan non-toxic skincare brand which has been expanding to the US market. Over a dozen member companies in Labs have successfully grown their business, not only in Korea but throughout Southeast Asia and the United States.

In 2019, WeWork Labs will also expand its programming to members by further collaborating with large corporations or organizations and by increasing access to the global Labs network, along with opportunities for partnerships. WeWork Korea recently signed an MOU with Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to promote startup support projects with WeWork Labs. Through the MOU, the two companies will support startups with professional services crucial to early-stage businesses including accounting, taxation as well as investment attraction.

Ryan Moon, Labs Manager at WeWork Yeouido Station, is taking over as the Head of Labs for WeWork Korea, effective April 1, 2019, following Samuel Hwang. Ryan founded fintech startup ‘Newsystock’ in 2012, which later on was acquired by Dayli Financial Group in 2015. Samuel Hwang, who served as Head of WeWork Labs Korea since its launch, will continue to closely work with Ryan and WeWork Labs, as a mentor in supporting the growth of members and as a startup investor.

“We are extremely proud that over 130 startups have grown with notable accomplishments through WeWork Labs and WeWork,” said both Samuel Hwang, former Head of WeWork Labs Korea and Ryan Moon, the newly appointed Head of WeWork Labs Korea. “WeWork Labs will continue to focus on building and sustaining a better ecosystem for Labs members in Korea to grow their business domestically and globally with the help of experienced Labs managers who are startup experts,” added Ryan.

“Through WeWork Labs, WeWork will be continually committed to supporting startups in Korea by reinforcing the startup ecosystem and providing networks,” said Matthew Shampine, General Manager, Korea at WeWork and co-founder of WeWork Labs Global. “WeWork Labs will continue to serve as a hub for early-stage startups in Korea, providing members with the space, global community, access to investment, and educational resources to help grow their business.”

Globally as of today, WeWork Labs has a total of 51 open spaces in 31 cities in 15 countries. In total, WeWork Labs globally has developed a robust global network of over 1,000 mentors and has helped startups raise over 54 million USD. All WeWork Labs members benefit not only from the extensive global network from WeWork Labs, but also from WeWork’s community of 400,000 members across 425 locations, 100 cities, 27 countries.

About WeWork

WeWork is a platform for creators, providing over 400,000 members around the world with space, community, and services through both physical and virtual offerings. WeWork currently has 425 physical locations in 100 cities and 27 countries around the world. Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York, the company now employs more than 9,000 globally. WeWork seeks ‘creators’ from all industries and companies big and small to become members, with a suite of WeWork-specific membership benefits in each country and a local staff in each city. More than 45,000 companies and more than 400,000 members are now based at a WeWork, with member companies ranging from start-ups to household names including Dell, KPMG, GE, Microsoft, and Samsung. More than 70% of WeWork’s members collaborate with each other and its international locations serve as convenient bases for business travel, enabling a great degree of work flexibility for both multinationals and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike, as well as options for easy expansion into new markets. For more information, visit wework.com

Website: http://www.wework.com

This is a news release distributed by Korea Newswire on behalf of this company.