Liner

AI Search · AI Agents · Korea

Funding

Liner raises $36M Series C led by LB Investment for AI search

The Korean startup is betting global traffic numbers, not just benchmark scores, will win over AI search skeptics.

• Liner, the Korean AI search and agent startup, raised 50 billion won (about $36M) in a Series C round led by LB Investment.
• Liner runs AI-powered search and agent products including Liner Scholar for academic research, Liner Write for writing tasks, and Liner Finance for investment research, with 14 million users across roughly 220 countries.
• The company will direct the new capital mainly into R&D to sharpen its search and agent technology, expand infrastructure, hire global talent, and grow its enterprise AI-transformation business.
• The round brings Liner's total funding to about 94 billion won (roughly $68M) since a 27 billion won raise in October 2024, and its service ranked 30th globally in SimilarWeb's AI traffic rankings as of July 2026.
• Liner has already sold its deep-research AI search engine into HUMAIN ONE, the unified AI platform of Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company HUMAIN, an early proof point for its enterprise push.
• As AI investors grow more selective, Liner's raise shows capital still flowing to search challengers that can show real global traffic and enterprise contracts rather than just benchmark wins.