South Korean sound AI startup Deeply (디플리) has raised ₩2.5 billion (approximately $1.8 million) in a new funding round, marking the company’s first institutional equity investment since its founding. The round included participation from DevSisters Ventures, Su-In Investment Capital, and Nautilus Investment.
The funding represents an important milestone for Deeply, which has spent the past several years building acoustic AI technology designed to help businesses understand and act on nonverbal sounds.
Unlike traditional voice-focused AI systems, Deeply’s technology analyzes machine sounds, environmental noise, and safety-related audio signals to support industrial operations and public safety applications.
Investment History For DEEPLY
| Investor | Type | Round / Program | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undisclosed FI Investor | Venture Capital | Seed Equity Round | Aug 2018 |
| Google for Startups (Campus Seoul) | Accelerator | Non-equity Residency Program | 2019 |
| Facebook Accelerator Seoul | Accelerator | Startup Program | 2019-2020 |
| New Flight | VC / Accelerator | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Hatch (Singapore) | Accelerator | Startup Program | Undisclosed |
| KB Innovation HUB | Corporate Innovation Program | Startup Support Program | Undisclosed |
| KOC-CON Acceleration Program | Accelerator | Acceleration Program | Nov 2023 |
| DevSisters Ventures | Venture Capital | ₩2.5B Seed / Pre-Series A Round | Jun 2026 |
| Su-In Investment Capital | Venture Capital | ₩2.5B Seed / Pre-Series A Round | Jun 2026 |
| Nautilus Investment | Venture Capital | ₩2.5B Seed / Pre-Series A Round | Jun 2026 |
Deeply Plans Global Expansion Following New Investment
According to the company, the fresh capital will be used to strengthen research and development efforts while accelerating business expansion.
Deeply is also preparing for a major push into the North American market, beginning with its participation at Automate 2026 in Chicago on June 22. The company is additionally pursuing linkage with South Korea’s TIPS program, which could provide further support for technology development and commercialization.
The investment comes at a time when industrial AI adoption is increasingly moving beyond computer vision and into multimodal sensing technologies. Deeply is positioning itself within this trend by turning sound into a structured source of operational data. Investor interest appears to be driven by both the company’s technical capabilities and its commercial traction.
Strong Growth Driven by Industrial AI Adoption
Deeply has demonstrated strong commercial growth over the past three years. According to financial data sourced from Korean regulatory filings, the company’s revenue increased from approximately KRW 180 million in 2023 to KRW 570 million in 2024, before reaching around KRW 1.07 billion in 2025.
This represents roughly 211% year-over-year growth between 2023 and 2024, followed by an additional 87% increase in 2025.
The company is currently targeting bearing manufacturers in North America as well as automotive production facilities, where machine sound analysis can help identify defects and equipment issues before they result in costly failures.
One of the key performance metrics highlighted by the company is the 99.87% accuracy achieved by its ListenAI platform in parts quality inspection and predictive maintenance use cases. Such results suggest that acoustic AI could become an increasingly valuable layer within modern manufacturing environments.
Why Investors Are Paying Attention to Acoustic AI
Commenting on the investment, DevSisters Ventures Executive Director Lee Seung-woo said Deeply is helping transform sound from an underutilized resource into a valuable industrial data asset. The investor believes the company can play a leading role in creating a new market where sound data is standardized and used across multiple industries.
While the funding amount itself is modest compared to larger AI rounds, the significance lies elsewhere. This is the first time Deeply has secured backing from multiple institutional venture investors.
The combination of commercial growth, industrial deployment, and potential access to additional government-backed programs places the company in a stronger position as it enters global markets and competes in the emerging acoustic AI sector.
