[Weekly M&A] Record-High Series A of 155 Billion Won in Humanoids... Enchem Announces 600 Billion Won Reverse Merger on Nasdaq

[Weekly Pitch: VC & M&A] This is the key venture investment and M&A briefing for this week brought to you by News Epoch. (2026.07.10 ~ 2026.07.16)

In this week's venture investment market, the humanoid robot company Holiday Robotics secured a 155 billion won Series A round, setting the record for the largest Series A in South Korea. In M&A, Enchem announced a 596.8 billion won reverse merger between its U.S. subsidiary and a Nasdaq-listed company. Steady investments continue in promising sectors such as AI, robotics, and energy, showing an intensifying competition to secure future growth engines.

■ Holiday Robotics 155 Billion Won... Enchem Announces 600 Billion Won Reverse Merger

The humanoid robot company Holiday Robotics secured a 155 billion won Series A investment. As the largest Series A in South Korea, existing investors Stonebridge Ventures, Atinum Investment, InterVest, and SpringCamp made follow-on investments, while IMM Investment, KB Investment, and BonAngels Venture Partners participated as new investors. The Korea Development Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea also participated as investors. The company was founded by CEO Song Ki-young, who previously founded the industrial AI vision company SuaLab.

On the 15th, electrolyte company Enchem announced a reverse triangular merger between its U.S. subsidiary Enchem America and the Nasdaq-listed company 'The GrowHub (TGHL)'. The acquisition amount is 596.88 billion won ($400 million), and the expected acquisition date is October 8. The GrowHub is a Singaporean blockchain company with no direct connection to Enchem's electrolyte business, making this move more about securing a financing channel in the U.S. capital market rather than a business acquisition. Space solar cell company Flexell Space also drew attention by securing a 25 billion won Series A investment from multiple investors, including Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, and the Industrial Bank of Korea. Multi-antibody immuno-oncology developer ArkGen BioSciences showed off the potential of the bio sector by receiving a 10 billion won Series A investment through Mirae Sci & Tech Holdings, the Industrial Bank of Korea, IMM Investment, and others.

■ AI Deals Concentrated in Pre-Seed and Early Rounds

Bunker Kids, which operates the AI character chatting platform 'WHIF', received a 2 billion won investment from Crit Ventures. AI data infrastructure company Algorix Corporation secured a pre-seed investment from Kakao Ventures. The amount was not disclosed. Novatech, which is developing the robot orchestration platform 'PiPER', secured a cumulative 7 billion won by attracting investments from Hyundai Motor Group's ZER01NE and Hyundai Motor Securities Mobility Fund. AI-based creator IP incubator Manhwa Jemyunso also received an investment from Primer. In the energy sector, Energynet, which develops perovskite solar modules, received an investment from the Jeonnam Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, proving interest in renewable energy technologies.

■ Absorption Mergers, Acquisitions, and Withdrawal of Sales

There was also news of M&A for management efficiency. Recipe Group, which operates the fashion brand 'SATUR', absorbed and merged its capital-impaired subsidiary Alterego. Also, pressure relief device manufacturer FDC seeks a new leap forward as it was acquired by Rho&Partners. Estée Lauder concluded its review of the sale of three brands—Dr.Jart+, Too Faced, and Smashbox—and decided to continue retaining them. In addition, high-tech industrial polymer specialist Samil Chemical received a 4 billion won investment from SBI Investment and others, while industrial safety-specialized AI SaaS company Saeim secured an undisclosed investment from CNTTech. Anti-aging skincare brand Veramore received investments from Rakuten Capital, Strong Ventures, and others. Startups in various fields—such as dental insurance claim automation solution WeAid, decision-making infrastructure developer Connectionary, offline real-time information platform operator Ludy, and beauty brand 'Mocres' operator Praun—secured investments, laying the groundwork for growth.

[Epoch Point]

This week's funds flocked to robotics. As humanoid robot company Holiday Robotics attracted 155 billion won, the largest Series A round in South Korea, the Korea Development Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea also listed their names as investors, and Novatech, which develops a logistics robot control platform, also received funding from Hyundai Motor Group. This is a signal that robotics companies, which had stayed in the prototype stage, are transitioning into a phase of raising funds for mass production.