TLDR:
- IBK Venture Investment, subsidiary of Industrial Bank of Korea, plans to invest 500 billion won into local startups over the next three years.
- IBK Venture Investment will act as an angel investor for early-stage startups, with IBK Capital handling secondary investments and corporate financing.
IBK Venture Investment, a subsidiary of the state-owned Industrial Bank of Korea, has announced plans to inject 500 billion won ($370 million) into local startups over the next three years. The investment unit, founded in December with an initial capital of 100 billion won, aims to fund early-stage startups and was recently licensed as a new technology venture capital business. While IBK Venture Investment will focus on funding the early stages of development as an angel investor, its affiliate, IBK Capital, will execute secondary investments from Series A to pre-initial public offerings. The policy lender IBK will handle principal investments and corporate financing for the funded companies.
IBK Chairman Kim Sung-tae expressed that the establishment of IBK Venture Investment was a response to the reduced venture investments during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the need for investments in early-stage startups. The venture capital firm aims to support the growth of startups according to their life cycle and put in all resources to invigorate the venture capital market. CEO Cho Hyo-sung, a veteran in investment banking, stated that in a time of global tech competition, the focus is on supporting startups with outstanding technology to strengthen Korea’s tech competitiveness.
