Kornatus

Kornatus, a South Korean mobility startup, was founded in June 2018 by Kim Gi-dong and is headquartered in Pangyo, the country's largest startup hub. The company operates in the ride-sharing market, targeting a solution for the chronic shortage of late-night taxis in urban areas like Seoul.

The company's core product is 'Banban Taxi', a taxi-sharing application available for both Android and iOS devices. This platform allows multiple passengers heading in the same direction to share a ride and split the fare. A key safety feature of the service is that only commuters of the same gender are permitted to share a taxi. The entire process is managed through the app, where payments are made automatically via preregistered cards, removing the driver from the fare-splitting process and eliminating the need for cash transactions.

Kornatus's business model is designed to be a win-win for both passengers and drivers. Passengers benefit from lower fares due to cost-sharing, while drivers are incentivized to take on rides they might otherwise refuse, such as short-distance trips. The platform was officially sanctioned by the government to address the issue of taxi shortages at night. By its launch in April 2019, the app had already built a network of approximately 1,600 cab drivers. Kornatus has successfully raised a total of $3.84 million over two funding rounds, including a Series A round of $2.84 million in April 2020, led by SK Gas. Other investors include Thoughts Become Things, Bon Angels, and SparkLabs Ventures.

Keywords: ride-sharing, taxi-sharing, South Korea, mobility, mobile application, Banban Taxi, urban transportation, last-mile transportation, shared mobility, taxi app, transportation technology, Seoul, Pangyo, Kim Gi-dong, SK Gas, Bon Angels, SparkLabs Ventures, commuter solutions, late-night taxi, transportation network