Zigbang is a South Korean property technology (proptech) company primarily known for its digital platform used to find apartments, houses, studios, and other residential properties. Since its inception, the company has expanded its operations beyond simple property listings into broader real-estate services, smart-home technology, and digital residential infrastructure. The corporate vision is encapsulated in the slogan “Beyond Home,” reflecting an ambition to create new services and possibilities surrounding residential life.1

Originally functioning as a digital equivalent of traditional property-listing platforms in Korea, Zigbang has evolved into a comprehensive “home technology” entity. This evolution covers the entire journey from finding a home to living in and operating that home.

Zigbang states it was founded in 2011, with its consumer-facing service launching in 2012.2

2011–2012: Foundation

Zigbang was established in South Korea in 2011. The service launched publicly in 2012, initially focusing on rental and property information. This period coincided with the rapid adoption of smartphones in Korea, which fundamentally changed how consumers searched for housing. Zigbang’s early value proposition centered on making the process of finding a home easier through mobile technology.

The platform became particularly associated with searches for:

• Studio apartments
• One-room apartments
• Officetels
• Rental properties
• General apartment listings

The company claims its service was the first rent-information platform of its type in Korea.

2016–2020: Growth as a Proptech Platform

During this period, Zigbang moved beyond being solely a listings application. It developed additional technologies and services within the real-estate ecosystem, growing its user base significantly. A notable milestone occurred in July 2020, when the company reported reaching 30 million app downloads. This phase also saw expansion through various acquisitions and partnerships, establishing Zigbang as a recognizable brand in the Korean proptech sector.

Zigbang did not remain a single-property-search application. Instead, it acquired or developed multiple platforms to address different segments of the housing market. Key components of its portfolio include:

• Hogangnono: A major platform dedicated to apartment information and community data.
• Movill: Acquired in 2021.
• NEMO: Part of the broader Zigbang ecosystem.
• ONHOUSE: Another subsidiary platform.
• Soma: A virtual office and workspace platform.

This diversification strategy addresses the highly information-driven nature of the Korean property market. Users may require distinct types of data depending on whether they are renting a studio, buying an apartment, comparing complexes, checking neighborhood details, selling a property, moving into a new build, or managing in-home technology.

In July 2022, Zigbang completed the acquisition of Samsung SDS’s Home IoT business. This transaction included operations involving Samsung digital door locks, smart wall pads, lobby/intercom systems, and associated intellectual property. Following this deal, Zigbang established a dedicated Smart Home Division.

This acquisition marked a significant strategic shift. Prior to 2022, Zigbang was primarily viewed as a real-estate search app. Post-acquisition, the company positioned itself as a technology provider for the entire residential experience. The acquired business had a substantial history, having sold more than 9 million digital door locks globally, with over 4 million units sold using their push-pull door-lock technology. This allowed Zigbang to inherit an established hardware business rather than building one from scratch.

Zigbang Real Estate

This remains the core identity of the company. The platform provides digital tools for discovering residential properties and interacting with the market. While historically focused on rentals and smaller units, it has expanded into broader real-estate services, including non-face-to-face brokerage and virtual model houses.

Hogangnono

Hogangnono complements the main Zigbang platform by focusing specifically on apartment information and community data. Given that apartments dominate a large portion of the Korean housing market, this segment provides critical access to specific demographic needs. Together, these platforms cover diverse segments of real-estate information.

Zigbang Smart Home

Following the 2022 acquisition, this segment has become a primary growth area. The product portfolio includes:

• Smart and AI-enabled door locks
• Wall pads
• Home-network systems
• Lobby phones and intercoms
• Residential security technologies

Recent developments include the announcement of “Alpha,” an AI-powered lobby phone featuring passwordless entry, alongside an expanded lineup of AI door locks.

Soma

Launched globally in 2022, Soma is a virtual-office platform. It represents Zigbang’s experimentation with broader concepts of digital spaces beyond physical real estate.

Zigbang’s technology approach operates on three layers:

1. Property Data: Collection and presentation of information regarding homes, buildings, neighborhoods, prices, rentals, and transactions.
2. Real-Estate Services: Addition of brokerage, advertising, marketing, virtual experiences, and professional tools around the data layer.
3. Physical Home Technology: Integration of hardware such as door locks, wall pads, and lobby systems directly into the residence, creating a connected-home environment.

While South Korea remains Zigbang’s strongest market, the company has pursued international expansion, particularly through its Smart Home division. The company has reported exports of smart-home products to markets including China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia.

For readers in Singapore, it is important to note that Zigbang’s presence is primarily linked to its smart-home technology and hardware exports rather than the operation of its Korean real-estate listing marketplace. Exporting a local property-listing platform is complex due to varying national real-estate regulations and market structures, whereas smart-home hardware offers a more scalable route for internationalization.

In November 2022, Zigbang unveiled a new corporate identity, marking its first logo change since 2012. The new slogan, “Beyond Home,” reflects the transition from a real-estate listing company to a broader residential technology provider.

The updated visual identity retains the brand’s signature orange color but incorporates a house-shaped symbol and an expanding oval, representing the extension of residential experiences through technology. Additionally, the company switched its displayed wordmark from the Korean “직방” to the English “zigbang,” signaling ambitions in international smart-home markets.3

Zigbang is led by CEO Ahn Sung-woo, who has overseen the company’s transition from a startup to a diversified proptech firm. In 2022, CB Insights recognized Zigbang as a Global Unicorn, with a valuation reported at approximately KRW 2.5 trillion.

In May 2025, the company announced raising KRW 60 billion (approximately US$44 million) through a bond-with-warrants transaction with VIG Alternative Credit to support its Smart Home and proptech businesses. Financially, Zigbang reported a return to operating profitability in Q1 2025, attributing this improvement to cost-structure optimizations and the growth of higher-margin businesses such as digital advertising for brokers and new-development marketing solutions.

Zigbang outlines four core values:

• Reliability: Creating a trustworthy residential environment.
• Innovation: Making residential life easier through technology accessible to everyone.
• Efficiency: Providing convenient experiences regardless of time or location.
• Possibility: Continuously creating new services around residential life.

Zigbang’s development can be summarized in four stages:

1. Property Listings (2011–2015): Using mobile phones to find homes.
2. Proptech Ecosystem (2016–2021): Using technology to streamline real-estate processes.
3. Smart Home (2022 onward): Extending technology into the living space via hardware.
4. Beyond Home (Current): Connecting the entire residential experience from search to automation.

Today, Zigbang operates as a diversified entity with three primary identities: a real-estate platform, a smart-home technology provider, and a digital-space developer. Its trajectory illustrates a move from connecting users to properties, to controlling and automating the properties themselves.

1. Zigbang : Who we are
2. Zigbang
3. Zigbang Unveils New CI and Vision With “Beyond Home” Rebranding : Zigbang Smart Home