Moon Ji-eun, CEO of Star Ventures, "Dreams for Youth... We Will Become a Unicorn Academy"

Supporting 15-20 Startups This Year
"From Seed Investment to Pre-IPO
We Will Create a One-Stop Platform"

"Not all seeds will grow well, but I believe there are companies that will become unicorns and decacorns, so I will invest in their infinite growth potential."

Moon Ji-eun, CEO of Star Ventures, a technology venture startup accelerator established last April that brands itself as a unicorn academy (photo), expressed her ambition, saying, "I want to create many success stories so that young people in their 20s can dream." After graduating from university, she spent nine years in the United States working in venture capital (VC) fields such as fund manager before returning to Korea, where she served as CEO of NextGame, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Groupon Korea, director of the Korea Venture Startup Association, and professor at Hanyang University Startup Support Group.

CEO Moon recalled, "After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis, I communicated with government ministries to create laws for fostering ventures and helped grow the market," adding, "I have seen how venture companies have helped raise our country's economy as an IT powerhouse."

Star Ventures recently opened applications for the ‘Star Innovation 1st cohort’ in partnership with SK Securities. Targeting startups within three years of founding, it offers up to 200 million KRW in seed investment, along with follow-up investment connections, mentoring, networking, and office space. They plan to select 15 to 20 startups this year. They have partnerships with various institutions, including university startup incubation centers such as Yonsei University and Hanyang University, as well as various VCs. CEO Moon said, "After returning to Korea, I had no significant academic or regional ties, but the ‘American style’ of quickly building genuine relationships regardless of age or status worked well."

CEO Moon aims to leverage all her know-how to achieve results within six months of startups joining Star Ventures. She also wants to make Star Ventures a one-stop platform from seed investment to pre-IPO (pre-listing investment). Recently, she has been focusing on ubiquitous computing that connects virtual and real worlds. CEO Moon emphasized, "We must be able to foresee the Singularity where artificial intelligence (AI) surpasses human intelligence." She is also seeking opportunities to invest in fields that cannot yield short-term results, such as artificial blood. She has invested in Solibis, a battery core materials specialist, and Solbio, which developed early cancer diagnosis technology.