kakao ai startup fund

Mergers & Acquisitions Mubadala, Goldman Sachs to invest $700 mn in Kakao Mobility

United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. and Goldman Sachs are set to invest a combined $700 million in Kakao Mobil...

Corporate strategy Hankook & Company to set up CVC with $11 mn in funding

Hankook & Company Co., the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., announced Thursday a plan to launch a wholly owned corporate ve...

Pension funds S.Korea’s GEPS to commit $143 million to foreign mid-cap buyout funds

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS), one of South Korea’s top three public pension programs, will commit up to 200 billion won ($1...

Earnings KakaoBank posts record Q1 profit, eyes Thai expansion after Indonesia

KakaoBank Corp., a leading South Korean internet-only bank, posted its highest quarterly profit in the first quarter, defying a drop in interest inc...

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

Asset management Korea Investment & Securities to sell Goldman Sachs funds

Korea Investment & Securities Co. said on Tuesday it is set to sell funds operated by Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP in South Korea, offering...

Korean games NCSOFT invests in US game startup emptyvessel

NCSOFT Corp. has made an equity investment in emptyvessel, a US indie games studio, as part of efforts to expand into the first-person shooter genre...

Pension funds NPS yet to schedule external manager selection; PE firms’ fundraising woes deepen

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, has yet to decide on a plan to select local extern...

Real estate Mirae Asset to be named Korea Post’s core real estate fund operator

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. is set to manage the mandate of more than 600 billion won ($416.8 million) in core real estate fund investment by...

Corporate strategy KT&G eyes overseas M&A after rejecting activist fund's offer

KT&G Corp., South Korea’s dominant tobacco and ginseng producer, is seeking to acquire a Japanese ginseng company after dismissing a 1.9-t...

Markets Kakao shares sink on SK Telecom’s stake sell-off news

Kakao Corp. shares underperformed its peers and the broad market on Friday after SK Telecom Co. sold off its entire stake in the South Korean platfo...

Alternative investments Meritz backs half of ex-manager’s $210 mn hedge fund

Meritz Financial Group Inc., one of South Korea’s most aggressive alternative asset managers, has committed 150 billion won ($105 million) to ...

Shareholder activism Activist fund Oasis boosts Korea team amid investor-friendly policy shift

Hong Kong-based activist fund Oasis Management is ramping up hiring for its Korea team as Seoul’s push to boost corporate value and strengthen...

Corporate strategy Samsung seeks tech alliance with top US universities for robotics, AI, 6G

In an ambitious bid to shape the future of technology, Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a sweeping initiative to collaborate with elite North Am...

Beauty & Cosmetics Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

As South Korea’s independent beauty brands continue to take the global stage by storm, investors are now looking beyond the creams and serums ...

Games S.Korea’s Krafton to nurture 6 new game studios in India

Krafton Inc., the publisher of global mega-hit “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), has selected six new Indian game studios to...

E-commerce Naver, Kurly tie up to counter e-commerce giant Coupang

South Korea’s online giant Naver Corp. and dawn grocery platform service provider Kurly Inc. have joined forces for a potential stake acquisit...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix bets on 3D HBM as next game-changer in AI chip race

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s top DRAM memory chipmaker, aims to redefine the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence memory chips with ...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung fends off Apple to reclaim global smartphone crown in Q1

Samsung Electronics Co. has regained its position as the world’s top smartphone vendor in the first quarter, outpacing Apple Inc. despite the ...

Asset management South Korea’s young rich vs old rich: Coins, art outpace bonds, funds

Young South Korean millionaires, placing bold wagers on unconventional financial assets such as cryptocurrencies and art, are gaining ground fast, g...

Artificial intelligence KT rolls out Thai-tailored large language model

South Korean telecom service provider KT Corp. has built a large language model (LLM) platform tailored for the Thai market in collaboration with Ja...

Asset management Mirae Asset’s default option retirement funds top $700 mn in assets

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. now manages over one-third of South Korea’s default-option retirement funds, with the assets it operates un...

Real estate Mirae, Koramco, Hana shortlisted for Korea Post’s core real estate fund

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co., Koramco REITs Management and Trust Co. and Hana Alternative Asset Management Co. were shortlisted for the mandat...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung, Google to unveil smart glasses next year in deeper AI alliance

Samsung Electronics Co. and Google LLC are strengthening their long-standing alliance as the artificial intelligence (AI) era redefines the balance ...

Private equity Glenwood PE to increase blind fund to $1 bn on pension funds’ interest

South Korea’s Glenwood Private Equity Co. is set to increase a blind fund to 1.5 trillion won ($1 billion) as pension funds at home and abroad...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korea launches $27 mn fund to invest in K-beauty startups

South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday announced the launch of a 40 billion won ($27 million) fund to invest in Korean beauty...

Private equity Geopolitics rewrite investment playbook – and that’s an opportunity: KKR

In an era of escalating geopolitical uncertainty, the head of one of the world’s largest private equity firms sees opportunity – not ret...

Sovereign wealth funds Korea’s WGBI inclusion moved to next April; Seoul works on policy steps

South Korea’s much-anticipated inclusion of its bonds in the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) has been postponed to April 2026 from Nov...

Entertainment Kakao Entertainment scraps IPO, seeks new buyer

Kakao Corp., South Korea’s largest mobile platform, is looking to sell a majority stake in Kakao Entertainment Corp., dropping a plan to take ...

Electronics Samsung unveils upgraded AI-powered OLED TVs

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday showcased its new lineup of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TVs with advanced artificial intelligence features...