Life Oasis

What Life Oasis does

Life Oasis (주식회사 라이프오아시스) is a Seoul-based mobile technology company founded in January 2021 that develops and operates maum (마음), a global language exchange and social conversation mobile application. The app matches users worldwide with conversation partners whose language preferences and interests align, addressing the company's identified gap of finding meaningful dialogue partners in a market it characterizes as unsafe or stimulating. maum is distributed through global app stores as a self-serve consumer product under a freemium model: core conversation functionality is free, with premium features available via in-app purchases generating the company's revenue.

The product has scaled to 8 million cumulative global downloads since its May 2021 launch, passing 1 million in December 2022 and 5 million in January 2025. The company reports 3.2 billion KRW (~3.2 billion KRW, ~$2.4M USD) in 2024 revenue, representing 200% year-over-year growth, with beSUCCESS reporting 60 billion KRW in sales by January 2026 across domestic and international markets including Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and the US. Operations are run by a team of 11-50 employees under founder and CEO Kim Su-yong (김수용), who serves as Representative Director.

Life Oasis has secured early-stage institutional validation through angel and seed funding from BonAngels Venture Partners (700 million KRW, post-money valuation of 7 billion KRW, September 2021), TIPS program selection (August 2023, approximately $385K), and multiple government-sponsored initiatives including the Initial Startup Package, Korea Tourism Organization Tourism Venture Program, and AWS Activate. The company has also participated in a series of Google collaboration programs (Global Collaboration 2022, Tokyo Program and K-startup Japan 2023, A-ha moment 2024) and partnered with Seoul National University Business School on US market entry planning. The company's go-to-market is product-led, relying on organic word-of-mouth, app store discovery, and community-driven offline playshops held in Vietnam.

Name

Life Oasis

Legal name

주식회사 라이프오아시스

Website

https://lifeoasis.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Life Oasis is a Seoul-based mobile technology company operating maum, a global language exchange and social conversation app that matches users by language preferences and interests. The freemium consumer product serves individual users worldwide and generates revenue through in-app purchases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. maum In-App Purchases / Freemium: The maum app operates on a freemium model, offering core language-exchange and conversation features for free, with premium features available as in-app purchases. Revenue is generated through transaction-based purchases within the mobile app.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Life Oasis develops and operates maum (마음), a mobile social conversation app that pairs users worldwide for language exchange and everyday dialogue based on shared languages and interests. The app is delivered free to consumers via global app stores under a freemium model, with revenue generated through in-app purchases for enhanced functionality. The product explicitly targets the difficulty of finding safe, clean conversation partners with matching language and interest profiles.

Product overview

Life Oasis operates a single unified product: the maum (마음) app — a global language exchange and social conversation platform. The product serves as a social networking application where users connect with people worldwide based on language preferences and interests, facilitating meaningful cross-cultural conversations in a safe environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• maum: Global social conversation app for language exchange and daily conversations. The app connects users with people who share their target language and interests, enabling meaningful conversations with people around the world in a safe environment. As of January 2025, the app has achieved 5 million downloads and serves as the primary product of Life Oasis.

Products and services

• maum (마음) Global mobile social conversation app for language exchange and everyday dialogue that pairs users worldwide based on shared languages and interests, designed as a safe, moderated environment for meaningful cross-cultural conversation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800만 cumulative downloads
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Life Oasis collaborated with Google on the A-ha moment project in May 2024. Additionally, the company was selected as a Google Global Collaboration Program window in May 2022, participated in the 창진원 X Google, Tokyo Program in August 2023, and was part of a K-startup Japan training program backed by Google in October 2023.
• 창진원 X Google, Tokyo ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Selected for the Changjinwon X Google Tokyo Program in August 2023, an international expansion initiative combining Korean startup support with Google's global resources, targeting growth in the Japanese market.
• 서울대 경영 전략 학회minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Life Oasis conducted a US expansion strategy with the Seoul National University Business School Management Strategy Society in July 2024, supporting international market entry planning.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HelloTalk: HelloTalk is the leading global language exchange mobile app, directly competing with maum by connecting language learners for text/voice conversation. Highly comparable product, freemium model, and target user base (language learners seeking native-speaker partners).
• Tandem: Tandem is a language exchange app pairing users with native speakers for chat and voice practice. Directly comparable to maum's core proposition of matching by language and interest, with a similar freemium monetization approach.
• Speaky: Speaky is a community-based language exchange platform connecting learners with native speakers for text and video chat. Operates in the same product category as maum with overlapping target audience and freemium economics.
• Hello Pal: Hello Pal is a language learning and social interaction app that connects users with native speakers worldwide. Comparable to maum in combining language practice with social networking and a freemium model.

Broad incumbents

• Azar (Hyperconnect): Azar is a video-based social discovery app from Hyperconnect (acquired by Match Group for $1.7B) that connects users globally for live conversations. While broader than language exchange, it competes directly for the same cross-border social discovery user.
• Discord: Discord is a large-scale voice, video, and text communication platform with language-learning communities. While broader in scope, it competes for the same 'global conversation with strangers' use case that maum serves, particularly among younger users.

Regional players

• Wink: Wink is a Korean social discovery app focused on making new friends through video and chat. A regional peer targeting overlapping Korean consumer social users and competing for the same Korean-language social engagement time as maum.
• Yallo (Hello Planet): Yallo is a global voice chat and social networking app from Hello Planet with strong presence in Korea and MENA. Comparable as a Korean-originated cross-border social platform with similar GTM (app store distribution, freemium in-app purchases).
• Between: Between is a Korean-built private social app for couples. While niche-different in use case, it is a comparable Korean consumer mobile social app in terms of GTM motion (app-store-led, freemium), team scale, and investor profile.
• Cake: Cake is a Korean mobile app for short-form video language learning with social features. Comparable as a Korean-originated consumer mobile app blending language and social networking, with similar target audience and freemium monetization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@lifeoasis_team
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lifeoasis
• Instagraminstagram.com/lifeoasis.team?igsh=ZGZyMmYzNnFrdzBv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 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 Life Oasis