Caredoc, a senior care startup founded in Busan, is emerging as a landmark case for non-capital region innovation as it pursues an initial public offering. Industry observers say the company is turning the possibility of a "regionally based unicorn" into reality in the senior care market, widely regarded as a core industry in an aging society.
According to the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center on Monday, Caredoc recently selected Korea Investment & Securities as its lead underwriter and began full-scale IPO preparations. The company has entered the IPO process starting with due diligence by the underwriter, marking the first listing attempt in Korea's senior care sector.
Caredoc is a "total senior care" company covering the full lifecycle of services including senior housing, care matching, caregiving and home-visit nursing. Since its founding in Busan in 2018, the company has maintained rapid growth, surpassing 300 billion won in cumulative gross merchandise value. It provides customized care services to more than 10,000 users each month through approximately 3,000 care coordinators.
Korea Investment & Securities, the lead underwriter, valued Caredoc's stable revenue structure and business scalability highly enough to make a direct equity investment. The two sides plan to maintain their strategic partnership after the IPO and jointly pursue new businesses such as senior housing development.
Caredoc is currently seeking to raise more than 20 billion won in pre-IPO investment. After completing that round, the company aims to accelerate IPO procedures targeting a listing next year. It had previously secured more than 35 billion won through Series B and other funding rounds, and has expanded its business foundation by closing project financing deals based on senior housing operations.
The company has drawn particular market attention for building a differentiated business model, including establishing a senior housing operator called "Care Operation" jointly with Invesco, the global asset management firm. Development of "Care Home Primio," a high-end senior housing brand's first location, is also underway in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
The Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center views the Caredoc case as an achievement for the non-capital region startup ecosystem. The center says it demonstrates that regionally based companies can enter the capital markets by proving both growth potential and profitability, even within an investment and listing structure centered on the Seoul metropolitan area.
"This is the result of the market recognizing our accumulated senior care capabilities and business viability," Caredoc CEO Park Jae-byeong said. "We hope more innovative companies can secure growth opportunities beyond the boundary between the capital and non-capital regions."
