The Korean government and the National Pension Service (NPS) are joining hands with leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), to expand global investment in Korean startups. Using this partnership as a springboard, the government plans to strengthen connections between domestic innovative companies and large overseas investors, and to prepare follow-up support measures that lead to tangible results in attracting investment.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 26th that it held a "Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup" in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, on the 25th, presided over by President Lee Jae-myung. The event was attended by six global VCs with combined assets under management of $300 billion, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
The NPS signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on investment cooperation with each of the six VCs that day. The two sides agreed to expand strategic cooperation with Korea's innovation ecosystem and to jointly identify promising companies and global investment opportunities. The NPS plans to use the local investment network it has built around its San Francisco office to find quality investment targets, while also supporting Korean startups in attracting overseas investment. The government also decided to prepare a concrete action plan to expand overseas VC investment, so that the MOUs do not end as merely declarative cooperation.
At the subsequent roundtable, participants discussed global venture investment trends, promising industries, investment criteria for Korean startups, and differences in the investment environments of Korea and the United States, as well as institutional difficulties. Participants cited artificial intelligence (AI) as a key investment area and highly rated Korea's excellent technical workforce and manufacturing base. In particular, they reached a consensus that combining U.S. software and AI technology with Korea's semiconductor, robotics and manufacturing capabilities could expand new investment opportunities.
"a16z has invested in more than 20 Korean companies in areas such as robotics and bio-health, and plans to expand its partnership with Korea through the recent opening of its Korea office," said Martin Casado, a partner at a16z. "If Korea's hardware and manufacturing capabilities are combined with U.S. software and AI, it will be of great benefit to both countries."
Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, described Korea as a "talent powerhouse" and expressed his intention to continue increasing investment. "Korea is a talent powerhouse, and because venture investment follows where the talent is, we will continue to expand our investment in Korea," he said. "A culture that is tolerant of failure will help strengthen the venture ecosystem and support startups in founding and growing."
Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst, cited Korea's automated robot factories and manufacturing infrastructure as strengths, and called for creating innovation clusters where large corporations and startups cooperate. Tony Florence, head of NEA, introduced his experience investing in Twelvelabs and said he would continue to explore additional investment opportunities in Korean AI startups such as Rebellions. Barry Eggers, co-founder of Lightspeed Venture Partners, assessed that cooperation between the Korean and U.S. venture ecosystems could be further strengthened by connecting networks between global investors and universities.
Roh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "Going forward, we will provide more policy support to create a venture and startup environment that meets global standards and to help our startups smoothly enter overseas markets."
