What Grampus does

Grampus, Inc. (그램퍼스 주식회사) is a privately-held Korean game studio founded in Seoul on January 15, 2014, that designs, develops, and operates casual cooking-simulation games centered on the proprietary 'Norma' character IP. Its portfolio includes the Korean-market title My Little Chef (마이리틀셰프, launched 2017 on Kakao Game, Google Play 2017 Casual Game of the Year) and its global counterpart Cooking Adventure (30M+ cumulative global users across Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and other markets since 2016), distributed via Google Play, Apple App Store, Samsung Galaxy Store, Kakao Game, and Facebook Canvas/Facebook Cloud Gaming under a May 2021 main contract. The studio extends the franchise into Web3 through Norma In Metaland (launched August 2023 via Singapore subsidiary GRAMPUS CWC PTE. LTD.) with NFT equip buffs and a $GRAM governance token ecosystem, and into licensed IP through BTS Cooking On (HYBE/BTS TinyTAN exclusive simulation-genre contract, October 2020).

The company operates two internal studios: the Game Division, which designs and operates the multi-platform casual game portfolio across mobile, web, cloud, Web3, and stated XR ambitions, and the Meta Division, which delivers gamification services, reward-system design, and user-behavior analytics to enterprise and brand partners including the eMart24 Everse metaverse project (Korea AI Service Division Grand Prize 2022). Revenue streams span free-to-play mobile in-app purchases and ads, brand partnership event sponsorships (BBGIRLS, GWSN, Korean Grandma, Yang Ting), Web3 NFT/token transactions, B2B gamification professional services, and IP licensing/co-publishing royalties (notably the March 2026 joint IP agreement with BPMG under which BPMG takes over Cooking Adventure development and operations and the full development team transitions).

Backed by a roster of investors including Smilegate Investment, Medici Investment, Com2uS, One Store, GXC, KAURA, Klaytn Foundation, Daekyo Investment, and Galaxia Moneytree, Grampus has raised approximately $3.5M in disclosed funding through 2022 and employs 51-100 people across its Seoul headquarters and Singapore regional office.

Name

Grampus

Legal name

GRAMPUS, INC. (그램퍼스 주식회사)

Website

https://grampus.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Grampus (그램퍼스) is a privately-held Korean game studio founded in 2014 that develops and operates casual cooking-simulation games — most notably Cooking Adventure and My Little Chef (30M+ global users) — across mobile, web, cloud, and Web3 platforms, with a separate Meta Division providing gamification and metaverse services to enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Mobile Games

akta.pro primary industry

Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Web3/Blockchain Game Studios (MPAFAAAO), On-Chain Game Engines & Developer Tooling (SDKs, APIs, Unity/Unreal plugins) (FSAPAGAB)

Keywords

• Casual mobile games
• Cooking simulation games
• Free-to-play games
• Web3 gaming
• Gamification services

Headquarters

HQ city

Gangneung

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free-to-play mobile game monetization: Casual cooking simulation games (Cooking Adventure, My Little Chef) distributed as free-to-play across global app stores with in-game items, in-app purchases, and in-game advertising as the primary monetization mechanic.
2. Brand partnership and sponsorship events: Revenue from brand collaboration events with K-pop artists (BBGIRLS Yoojung, GWSN) and creators (Korean Grandma/박막례 할머니, Yang Ting/양띵) featuring in-game events with branded prizes and promotions.
3. NFT and $GRAM token ecosystem (Norma In Metaland): Web3 revenue from Norma NFT and Friends NFT sales and $GRAM token ecosystem within the Norma In Metaland game operated through Singapore-based GRAMPUS CWC PTE. LTD.
4. B2B metaverse and gamification professional services: Meta Division provides commerce/advertising-based metaverse co-development and gamification services to enterprise clients such as the eMart24 Everse metaverse project.
5. IP licensing and co-publishing: Revenue from IP licensing deals including joint IP ownership of Cooking Adventure with BPMG, global publishing agreement with Com2uS for PROJECT B, and HYBE BTS exclusive simulation genre contract.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels17 records

Core offering

Grampus develops and operates casual cooking simulation games — including Cooking Adventure (global), My Little Chef (Korean market), Norma In Metaland (Web3-enabled), and BTS Cooking On (HYBE IP-licensed) — distributed free-to-play across iOS, Android, Kakao Game, Facebook Canvas/Cloud Gaming, and Web3 platforms with over 30 million global users. The studio also operates a Meta Division that delivers B2B gamification, reward-system design, and user-analytics services for enterprise clients such as the eMart24 Everse metaverse project.

Product overview

Grampus operates as a multi-product game publisher and developer organized around two internal studios — the Game Division (which designs, develops and operates its casual cooking-simulation game portfolio) and the Meta Division (which delivers gamification, reward-system design, and user-analytics services for game and non-game engagements). The Game Division's flagship is the casual cooking simulation franchise centered on the protagonist Norma, comprising the Korean-market core product My Little Chef (마이리틀셰프), its global counterpart Cooking Adventure (쿠킹어드벤처), the Web3-enabled mobile and web-browser extension Norma In Metaland (노마인메타랜드), and the BTS/TinyTAN IP-licensed title BTS Cooking On; earlier titles Bingo Adventure and Tap Chef are part of the historical portfolio. Beyond self-published titles, Grampus leverages external publishing and infrastructure partnerships (e.g., Facebook Canvas / Facebook Cloud Gaming, Kakao Game, Google Play, Apple App Store, Samsung Galaxy Store, Com2uS global publishing, HYBE BTS IP licensing, E-Mart 24 metaverse collaboration, and Aethir GPU infrastructure for Web3) to distribute its games and the joint-IP Cooking Adventure operations now co-owned with BPMG.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cooking Adventure: Casual cooking simulation game (global version of My Little Chef), available on Facebook canvas app/cloud gaming and mobile; over 30 million global users.
• My Little Chef (마이리틀셰프)
• Norma In Metaland
• BTS Cooking On

Products and services

• Cooking Adventure Casual cooking simulation game and global version of My Little Chef, featuring protagonist Norma across 50+ restaurant types and 500+ recipes worldwide; distributed via Facebook Canvas app / Facebook Cloud Gaming and mobile, with over 30 million global users since its 2016 launch.
• My Little Chef (마이리틀셰프) Korean-market casual cooking simulation game centered on protagonist Norma with vivid graphics and real-restaurant cooking reproduction; published on Google Play, Apple App Store and Kakao Game platform; selected Google Play's 2017 Casual Game of the Year.
• Norma In Metaland (노마인메타랜드) Web3-enhanced version of Cooking Adventure available on mobile and web browser (PC); players earn 'Candy' through gameplay and equip Norma NFTs and Friends NFTs for buffs, with GRAM DAO governing the 'World Chef Championship' and a $GRAM ecosystem spanning content providers, brand partnerships, and community.
• BTS Cooking On Cooking simulation game built on the HYBE/BTS TinyTAN IP under an exclusive simulation-genre licensing contract, allowing players to travel the world as aspiring chefs alongside TinyTAN characters.
• Grampus Meta Division services B2B service offering delivering gamification-based services, optimal reward-system design, and user-tendency analysis using proprietary algorithms and patterns, applied to game and non-game (service-mix, metaverse) engagements such as the E-Mart 24 E-verse project.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30M+ global users reached by Cooking Adventure since 2016
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, moderate and major.

• BPMGflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026BPMG and Grampus signed an agreement for joint ownership of the intellectual property for 'Cooking Adventure'. BPMG will oversee the game's development and operations, with plans to expand it to Steam, HTML5, and Web3-based ecosystems. The full Grampus development team for Cooking Adventure is transitioning to BPMG.
• AethirmoderateTechnology or Integration · 22 July 2025Grampus is profiled as a partner leveraging Aethir's decentralized GPU cloud infrastructure (over 43,000 gaming GPUs and 3,000+ NVIDIA H100s) to support the transition of Web2 gaming studios to Web3, supporting cloud gaming functionality and enterprise-grade GPU services through Aethir's Atmosphere platform.
• BBGIRLS (유정 / Yoojung)moderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2023BBGIRLS member Yoojung signed the main contract as the official model for My Little Chef in July 2023, appearing in promotional content and YouTube feature videos (e.g., Pudding House special guest event, game company visit, restaurant creation skit).
• eMart24 (이마트24)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Grampus Meta Division signed the main contract for the eMart24 metaverse project (Everse) in September 2022, a commerce/advertising-based metaverse with joint development. The initiative subsequently won Korea's Artificial Intelligence Service Division Grand Prize in 2022.
• Facebook (Meta) Cloud Gaming (FBCG)majorTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2021Grampus signed the main contract with Facebook Cloud Gaming (FBCG) for Cooking Adventure in May 2021, enabling distribution and cloud gaming services for the title across Facebook's global platform.
• Com2uS (컴투스)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2021Com2uS signed a global publishing contract with Grampus related to 'PROJECT B' in January 2021. Com2uS also appears among Grampus's major domestic and foreign investors, indicating both a strategic investment and publishing relationship.
• HYBE (with BTS IP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Grampus signed an exclusive contract with HYBE for BTS-based game development in the simulation genre in October 2020. This led to the 'BTS COOKING ON' title featuring TinyTAN characters, providing Grampus with access to the globally recognized BTS IP for branded game development.
• Korean Grandma (박막례 할머니)moderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 October 2020Creator partnership with Korean Grandma (박막례 할머니) signed main contract in October 2020, leveraging her broad popularity for content collaboration and brand promotion of My Little Chef.
• GWSN (공원소녀)moderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019GWSN (공원소녀) signed the main contract as the official model for My Little Chef in 2019, supporting brand promotion and audience engagement in the Korean market.
• Yang Ting (양띵)moderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Creator partnership with Yang Ting (양띵) signed the main contract in 2019, supporting brand promotion and audience engagement for My Little Chef in the Korean market.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Com2uS: Korean mobile game publisher and developer (Summoners War, MLB The Show). Com2uS is a direct comparable as a Korean-headquartered casual/midcore mobile game publisher and is also a strategic investor and global publishing partner of Grampus, making it both a peer and a counterparty.
• LINE Games: Korean casual and Web3 gaming subsidiary of LINE Corporation, developing casual and blockchain-integrated titles. Comparable as a Korean studio publishing multi-platform casual games with Web3 exposure and a comparable regional audience.
• Wemade: Korean game publisher best known for The Legend of Mir and a major Web3 gaming ecosystem (WEMIX). Comparable as a Korean-headquartered publisher with significant Web3 token, NFT, and DAO infrastructure — directly relevant benchmark for Grampus's Norma In Metaland strategy.
• CookApps: Korean casual mobile game publisher specializing in cooking, lifestyle, and hypercasual titles globally. Closest pure comparable for Grampus's casual cooking-simulation genre and mobile-first publishing model.
• SmartStudy (Pinkfong): Korean studio behind Pinkfong (Baby Shark) and casual/family mobile games. Comparable as a Korean casual-mobile studio targeting broad family audiences with cross-platform distribution and IP-driven brand extensions.

Broad incumbents

• Animoca Brands: Hong Kong-headquartered Web3 gaming and digital rights leader (REVV, Sandbox). Comparable as a larger incumbent operating broadly in Web3 gaming, token economies, and NFT-based game IP — a benchmark for what scaled Grampus-style Web3 operations could become.
• CrazyLabs: Global casual and hypercasual mobile game publisher (formerly TabTale). Comparable as a global leader in casual F2P mobile distribution with multi-platform publishing reach — directly relevant for the planned Cooking Adventure expansion beyond Korean and SEA markets.
• Playrix: Global casual mobile game developer behind Homescapes, Gardenscapes, and Township. Comparable as a global casual-mobile incumbent dominating the cooking/lifestyle sub-genre — defining benchmark for competitive intensity and UA economics in Grampus's primary category.

Emerging players

• Gala Games: Web3 gaming platform operating GALA token and node-based gaming ecosystem with multiple casual-to-midcore titles. Comparable as an emerging player applying token and NFT mechanics to casual game genres — directly relevant to Norma In Metaland's go-to-market approach.

Others

• Warner Music Group / HYBE-style K-pop IP holders: Major music/entertainment IP holders that license celebrity IP into games (HYBE/BTS, SM, JYP). Comparable as counterparties for IP licensing deals like Grampus's exclusive HYBE BTS simulation contract — a structural relationship benchmark for monetizing K-pop IP in casual games.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/normainmetaland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GRAMPUSYouTube
• Facebookfacebook.com/grampusgames
• Instagraminstagram.com/chef_norma

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grampus