Korea's food-tech startup Siksin creates metaverse property space before IPO process

South Korea’s food-tech startup Siksin has added metaverse or digital properties to incorporate them with its lucrative mobile meal voucher service as its preps initial public offering through a high-tech exception.

“We have launched “Twin Korea”, digital space of key commercial districts in and around Seoul based on data on popular diners fed by our meal voucher business,” said Siksin founder and CEO Ahn Byung-ik.

Siksin, founded in 2013 as restaurant recommendation service platform operator, has hit the jackpot with its mobile meal voucher service that is currently used by 500 large and medium-sized companies for about 150,000 employees in Korea. Samsung is one of its electronic meal ticket buyers.

The turnover from mobile meal vouchers reached 75 billion won ($62.6 million) in 2021 and is projected to double to 150 billion won this year.

Of 19 million salaried workers in Korea, half of their lunches are being subsidized by their employers. The company plans to add 50,000 more restaurants near business districts.

The service has pleased both employers and employees as expensing has become easier through smartphones and digital receipts and will only grow, said CEO Ahn.

Siksin founder and CEO Ahn Byung-ik

The company is leveraging on the data built from its lucrative service for digital property trade.

Siksin has built 85,000 metaverse cells in virtual metropolitan areas covering Seoul and its surrounding areas. It has already started selling cells in 100 virtual places with a 10-to-1 competition for cell ownership, according to Ahn.

Cell owners of Twin Korea, projecting real-world landmarks and buildings in commercial districts based on Naver maps, will be able to collect points based on their usage rate of their cells. Cell owners can create new buildings and attract commercials to get points.

The metaverse platform will start a pilot service in the first quarter and plans to expand its virtual universe to foreign cities, including New York, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai, Ahn said.

Siksin has selected Mirae Asset Securities to go public through the country’s fast-tracking initial public offering process with a plan to apply for preliminary approval in the first half.

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