The Korean VC industry continues to seek better returns overseas to counterbalance the economic slowdown in their home country. In May, the industry formed a joint fund worth $100 million with UAE-based alternative investor Shorooq Partners, adding to their growing list of international investments. This move follows the launch of funds in Japan last year and India in the first half of this year. The Korean investor has expressed openness to establishing more funds with foreign capital, urging the Korean government to amend a related capital law that currently mandates at least 20% of a foreign country-dedicated fund to be allocated domestically.
Another UAE-based investment firm, LB Investment Inc., has also shown interest in Korean startups, planning to create a venture fund worth up to $1 billion after attracting investments from limited partners in the UAE. The fund will be managed by LB Investment. Additionally, Kosdaq-listed SV Investment Corp. is in discussions with Indonesia’s first VC, East Ventures, to launch a joint fund worth up to $100 million.
Despite the economic uncertainties caused by the global slowdown, venture capitalists are keen on investing in entrepreneurs with proven technology that can generate profits in the near term. Korean VCs that have previously ventured into foreign markets have achieved significant profits, attracting more partnerships with foreign counterparts. Notably, fund of funds operators and state-run policy bank Korea Development Bank have played a crucial role in supporting local VCs’ global expansion. Venture capitalists under Korea’s top four financial groups and corporate venture companies have also joined this trend.
In September, tech-focused venture capital firm SBVA (formerly SoftBank Ventures Asia) invested in US startup You.com during its $50 million Series B funding round. The funding round also saw participation from Georgian, Salesforce Ventures, Nvidia, and others. In August, Korean conglomerates SK Networks Co., LG Electronics Inc., and Hanwha Group collaborated with SoftBank to contribute to SBVA’s $130 million fund, named Alpha Intelligence, which focuses on investing in AI startups.
Hashed Inc., a Korean company, participated in Singapore-based Backpack’s $17 million Series A funding round in March. Backpack is a Solana-based blockchain company. Hashed Inc. also partnered with leading US VC Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) to lead a $54 million funding round for Story Protocol Inc.