vc

Artificial intelligence Liner ranks 9th in generative AI services selected by a16z

South Korea's generative AI startup Liner said on Friday that its search service ranked 9th in the web services category of the Top-100 Gen AI Consu...

Korean startups S.Korea's early stage VC funding down amid dearth of targets

Early stage startup funding has plummeted in South Korea as venture capitalists shifted to late-stage venture firms with stable business models amid...

Bio & Pharma Samsung to invest $52 mn in US biotech VC Flagship Pioneering

Samsung C&T Corp., its bio units Samsung Biologics Co. and Samsung Bioepis Co. and Samsung Venture Investment Corp. have committed a combined 72...

Private equity Korea's KDB widens gap in VC fundraising in H1; NPS to fund in July

The capital commitments of state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) have widened the gap for South Korean venture capital firms in fundraising over ...

Pension funds NPS to spur buyout, VC in US tech sector: chairman

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), the world’s third-largest pension fund, will speed up its private equity (PE) investments ...

Venture capital VC firm DSC Investment forms Korea's largest secondary fund

South Korean asset manager DSC Investment has formed the country’s largest-ever fund for venture capital secondaries to explore opportunities ...

E-commerce Blight of failing e-commerce startups in South Korea

Linkshops, once touted as a future unicorn candidate in South Korea, declared bankruptcy last month even after garnering 15.4 billion won ($11.4 mil...

Korean startups Korean learning platform Elice raises $14.9mn from Vertex

Elice Inc., a South Korean startup offering an all-in-one digital learning platform for teachers and corporations, will transform into an artificial...

Bio & Pharma Samsung eyes biotech investments via Flagship Pioneering

Samsung C&T Corp., Samsung Biologics Co. and Samsung Bioepis Co. will ramp up investments in US biotechnology startups in collaboration with Fla...

IPOs Fintech platform operator Viva Republica revives IPO plan

Viva Republica Inc., the operator of South Korea’s fintech platform Toss, has revived plans to go public after pushing back its stock market d...

Venture capital VCs give thumbs up to EV, parts/materials, travel tech

The venture capital funding crunch has continued through this year in South Korea but VCs have raised their stakes in select companies in the electr...

Bio & Pharma Samsung Biologics partners with Europe's largest VC

Samsung Biologics Co., the world's largest contract drug manufacturer, announced on Tuesday it has teamed up with global biotech venture capitalist ...

Venture capital S.Korean startups, VC seek money, business opportunities in Japan

South Korean startups and venture capitalists battered by chilled investor sentiment amid rising interest rates and slowing economic growth at home ...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG Electronics to form $100-million global startup fund

LG Electronics Inc. has committed over $100 million to a startup fund to unearth new technologies in sustainable energy, digital health, artificial ...

Electric vehicles Everon attracts $39 mn thanks to hot VC demand for EV charging

Everon, one of South Korea’s top three electric vehicle charging infrastructure and management service providers, raised 50 billion won ($39 m...

Venture capital Korean startups feel bite of funding drought in H1

The drought in venture capital funding worsened in South Korea in the first half of this year, taking an especially heavy toll on platform and b...

Venture capital Ontario, S.Korea VC firm to establish $76 mn healthcare fund

Canada's Ontario government has joined hands with a South Korean venture capital firm to establish a fund of 100 million Canadian dollars ($75.6 mil...

Tech, Media & Telecom LG Group seeks new partners in Silicon Valley’s startup scene

South Korea’s LG Group seeks new partnerships with global ventures to strengthen its new growth engines, such as batteries, biopharmaceuticals...

Upcoming IPOs LB Investment draws record demand in IPO bookbuild

LB Investment Inc., formerly known as LG Group’s venture capital arm, has attracted the most orders ever for an initial public offering of a S...

Korean startups Korea's StoneBridge Ventures invests $91 mn in semiconductor, AI

South Korean venture capital investment firm StoneBridge Ventures Inc. announced on Thursday that it has invested a total of 120 billion won ($90.9 ...

Private equity S.Korean investors eye VC, growth equity in tech: Adams Street

Many investors are questioning whether private markets will stay bullish amid uncertainty in 2023. The markets will continue to generate interesting...

Korean startups Patty-cooking robotics startup Aniai completes seed funding

Aniai Inc., a foodservice robotics developer founded by a South Korean, said on Feb. 21 it has attracted $3 million via a seed funding round to boos...

Mergers & Acquisitions Woori Financial to acquire VC firm Daol Investment

South Korea’s Woori Financial Group is set to acquire Daol Investment Co., a venture capital arm of the liquidity-strapped Daol Financial Grou...

Venture capital Smart Study Venture creates $28.4 million Baby Shark Tourism Fund

Smart Study Ventures, a corporate venture capital (CVC) affiliated with The Pinkfong Company, said on Thursday that it has created a "Baby Shark Nex...

Corporate restructuring Korea’s Daol to sell another unit to secure liquidity

South Korea’s Daol Financial Group agreed to sell another unit as part of its efforts to raise money in preparations for a possible liquidity ...

Korean startups KED's startup news platform Geeks launches revamped website

Geeks, The Korea Economic Daily’s startup news platform launched in May, launched an upgraded website in Korean on Monday. The new conten...

Venture capital Daol Financial Group to let go of VC affiliate, hit by liquidity crunch

The Daol Financial Group is widely expected to let go of its venture capital arm in the midst of a worsening liquidity crunch. The VC firm Daol...

Venture capital VC firms rake in profit of up to 6 times principal from Raemongraein

Venture capital firms that invested in media production company Raemongraein Co. raked in significant profit from the surge in popularity of the TV ...

Korean startups D.Day X D.Camp All Star event aims to narrow gap between VC and startup

Come this Thursday, D.Camp operated by the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs will host the biggest demo day of the year, in collaboration wit...

Venture capital Corporate VC veterans pinpoint their best investments 

South Korean conglomerates in recent years have ramped up their investment in startups, yielding positive returns. Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Pre...