이 기사는 2019년 10월 22일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

South Korean fabric technology company TFJ Global plans to raise funds from domestic and Japanese venture capital firms in order to expand its carbon fiber business by building a new plant and recruiting more talents.

TFJ Global, specializing in water repellent finishes, is preparing for a Series C funding round worth tens of billions of won, according to industry sources on October 16. The four-year old startup is currently in talks with domestic venture capital firms as well as some Japanese venture capitalists which have already promised 10 billion won.

The textile technology startup is aiming to raise more than 70 percent of its latest funding goal from domestic investors. "We plan to focus on talks with top-tier venture capital firms in the country," said CEO of the company Jin Ui-gyu.

TFJ Global developed the world's first non-fluoride water-repellent technology and has a patent for so-called Water Glide Technology (WGT). The company has seen rapid growth during recent years. It expects to post revenue of about 10 billion won this year, quadrupling from 2.5 billion won in 2018. It also aims to list itself on KOSDAQ in 2021, when its revenue is expected to reach 50 billion won.

The startup has raised about 3.5 billion won to date. Local venture capital firm BSK Investment invested 1.5 billion won in Series A funding in 2017, followed by other two domestic investment firms, Centum Invest and CAPE Investment & Securities, investing a total of two billion won in a Series B funding round closed earlier this year.

TFJ Global has considerably increased its Series C funding goal in order to focus its investment on equipment and capabilities for carbon fiber, the company's new core business. "The proceeds from previous two funding rounds were used to finance capital expenditures for the existing business. Now we need a larger scale of investment in equipment and people as we expand our business to carbon fiber materials," said Jin.

The startup is in partnership with the government-backed Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to develop carbon fiber materials, which are planned to be sold at half price compared to its overseas peers.

(By reporter Sin Hyun-suk)