Car-care app Sejinsa lands seed extension, picked for Korea's TIPS program
What's the deal? SejinsaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a South Korean car-care app, has raised a seed extension round from Seoul National University Technology HoldingsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and been selected for TIPSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups'Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → government-backed startup support program. The amount is undisclosed. The round follows a US$1.26M seed investment from Hashed VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What does Sejinsa do? Launched in August 2023, the app began as an on-demand service where professional crews travel to a customer's parked car to wash it. It now also offers maintenance, including engine oil and tire changes, all booked in-app.
By the numbers: As of September, Sejinsa had passed 60,000 cumulative washes, with monthly wash and maintenance volumes growing. Its service crew now exceeds 4,000 people.
Why now? Through the TIPS project, Sejinsa will receive US$670.7K in R&D funding over the next two years, separate from the investment. Seoul National University Technology Holdings recommended the company as a TIPS operator.
What's the endgame? The company is building AI car-care technology using vehicle data collected during washes. Crews photograph cars during work, and the system automatically flags issues such as exterior damage, engine oil, battery, and tire conditions — feeding into personalised recommendations on when to wash or service each vehicle.
Where the money goes: The investment funds customer acquisition, operations infrastructure, and key hires. The TIPS R&D money targets the AI vehicle-condition model, the recommendation system, and product and AI engineering hires.
What they said: "Washing is the car-care service owners use most often," said chief executive officer Yoon Yong-bin. "We'll build a service that tells you what your car needs first, from the data that accumulates with every wash." (translated from Korean)
The signal: Sejinsa reflects a broader push to turn routine, high-frequency consumer services into data businesses. By treating each wash as a recurring data touchpoint, the company aims to link car washing to maintenance and build a single-app model for vehicle management — without extra hardware.
Read more: wowtale.net
Image credit: twaddan12
