Leading global venture capital (VC) firms in Silicon Valley expressed their intent to expand investment in Korean artificial intelligence (AI) startups on the occasion of President Lee Jae-myung's visit to the United States. President Lee called for investment, pledging institutional support such as visa reform. The National Pension Service (NPS) also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six VC firms to build long-term partnerships, agreeing to support Korean startups in attracting global investment and nurturing unicorn companies.
President Lee attended the "Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup" held at a hotel in San Francisco, U.S., on the 25th, where he stressed, "If the strengths of Korea and the United States are combined, we can together create the next Samsung, Hyundai, SK and Naver, as well as new global innovative companies that will lead the world." He continued, "When Korea's promising startups meet your global investment capabilities, investors gain new growth opportunities and our startups can secure a springboard to leap into the global market."
President Lee said, "We will create the best environment in the world for investing and starting a business," unveiling his support plans, including institutional improvements to attract overseas talent. "We will boldly improve the visa system that blocks the inflow of overseas entrepreneurial talent, and we will further expand the cooperation base that connects domestic and foreign companies, research institutions and investment institutions," Lee said. "By organically linking the mother fund, the National Growth Fund, pension funds and private capital, we will provide comprehensive support in investment, finance and overseas market entry so that promising startups do not remain at the startup stage but can grow into global companies."
The VC firms that signed the MOU with the National Pension Service that day were Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates — the six largest "heavyweights" in Silicon Valley. Andreessen Horowitz, with assets under management (AUM) of 100 billion dollars (about 146 trillion won), has invested in OpenAI, GitHub and others. Sequoia Capital manages 60 billion dollars and led the growth of Apple, Google and Airbnb. The AUM of the six VC firms reaches 313 billion dollars (about 450 trillion won).
VC officials also welcomed the move in unison and expressed interest in Korea's AI ecosystem. Martin Casado, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, said, "Korea is a strategically and technologically important country," adding that it "holds a unique position in the AI field." Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst, said, "We will create more plans in Korea," and Alfred Lin, co-managing partner of Sequoia Capital, hinted at additional investment, saying, "We will continue to increase investment in Korea going forward." Vinod Khosla, a partner and founder of Khosla Ventures, also expressed expectations, saying, "There is a secret project underway in the robotics field that cannot yet be announced."
Tony Florence, co-managing partner of New Enterprise Associates, referred to "AI for everyone" and said, "Korea is increasingly playing a central role," adding that it "will continue to raise its potential and play a pivotal role in AI." Under this agreement, the National Pension Service's San Francisco office is expected to serve as a forward base for the Silicon Valley investment network.
