
KDT DIAMOND
Lab-grown diamond manufacturing, polishing, and distribution.
Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
---|---|---|---|
investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Series A | |
Total Funding | 000k |
The story of KDT DIAMOND begins not in a lab, but in a small 10-square-meter jewelry shop in a Seoul underground mall in 1987. There, founder Kang Seung-gi built a business importing and distributing natural diamonds in a country with no diamond mines of its own. For decades, KDT established itself as a traditional diamond company, building deep expertise in the gemstone trade. A major shift occurred in 2021. In collaboration with Professor Song Ohsung and a research team from the University of Seoul, KDT achieved a significant technological breakthrough. They successfully produced South Korea's first lab-grown diamond using a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method. This event marked a pivotal transformation, positioning KDT as the eighth country in the world with the capability to produce lab-grown diamonds and the sole producer in South Korea. The company, now also led by Kang's son, Kang Seong-hyuk, quickly moved to commercialize this innovation. Facing overwhelming demand that outstripped their domestic production capacity, KDT launched its own lab-grown diamond brand, 'ALOD'. This strategic pivot proved successful, with lab-grown diamonds accounting for 80% of their sales soon after. To scale operations, KDT secured a Series A funding round in April 2024 from investors including Genaxis, Signite Partners, and Hanwha Investment & Securities. This capital is fueling a major expansion, including the construction of a new manufacturing and polishing plant in Surat, India, the world's diamond processing hub.