[Click eStock] "DSC Inbe, Portfolio Shift to Future Industry Focus"

NH Investment & Securities Report

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] NH Investment & Securities analyzed on the 21st that DSC Investment is shifting its portfolio toward future industries, and performance improvement is expected when the market rebounds. Having completed large-scale fundraising this year, the company’s efforts to discover and participate in investment opportunities through its subsidiary Schmidt were also positively evaluated. No investment opinion or target price was provided.

Yoon Yudong, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, explained, "DSC Investment completed fundraising of 25 billion KRW for a new single fund this year in accordance with the one-fund strategy principle. Despite a challenging market environment, the targeted amount was secured, so there are no plans for new funding next year, and the focus will be on investments using the existing resources for the time being."

He added, "The main investment targets have changed according to industrial trend shifts. While there was strong interest in bio and platform companies in the past, the current focus is on artificial intelligence (AI), mobility, and robotics." He continued, "For example, they have experience investing in and exiting from Flitto, and they currently hold investments in AI chatbot-related companies such as TUNiB, MindLogic, and FuriosaAI, having invested from the Series A stage."

He further analyzed, "With an increase in management fees, the cumulative net income attributable to controlling interests for the third quarter this year reached 17.9 billion KRW, significantly surpassing last year’s full-year net income of 15.9 billion KRW. However, since there are no plans for additional fund formations next year, it will be difficult to expect performance exceeding this, and patience is needed until a meaningful increase occurs."

Researcher Yoon noted, "The synergy with subsidiary accelerator (AC) Schmidt is noteworthy. Schmidt recorded its best-ever performance in the third quarter, demonstrating its early-stage investment capabilities. They are focusing investments of 300 million to 1 billion KRW per deal on automation, intelligence, eco-friendliness, and electrification sectors." He concluded, "They have completed co-investments in 31 companies totaling 115 billion KRW, and since valuations are not yet high, follow-up investments in promising companies can be expected."