[Special Stock] Capstone Partners, the 'Investment Master' behind Discovering Danggeun and Zigbang... Increasing Early AI Investments in Luiten and DeepX

Capstone Partners, a venture capital (VC) specializing in startup investments, is soaring sharply compared to its initial public offering (IPO) price on its first day of listing.

As of 9:32 a.m. on the 15th, Capstone Partners was trading at 8,350 KRW, up 4,350 KRW (108.75%) from the IPO price of 4,000 KRW.

A total of 1,453 domestic and international institutions participated in the demand forecast, recording a competition rate of 952.78 to 1. The IPO price was set at 4,000 KRW, exceeding the upper limit of the expected range of 3,200 to 3,600 KRW.

Capstone Partners is a venture investment firm with strengths in early-stage investments and new growth industries. Its greatest strengths are proven early investment capabilities and an effective value-up system. It has nurtured numerous unicorns such as ‘Danggeun’, ‘Zigbang’, ‘Sendbird’, and ‘Coupang’ through early investments. For Danggeun Market and Zigbang, which have participated in all rounds of investment starting from Series A, their corporate values have increased by 343 times and 338 times respectively compared to the time of investment.

Additionally, it holds a large portfolio of next unicorns rapidly growing in various new growth sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), fintech, and platforms.

Capstone Partners invested in the AI industry even before ChatGPT gained attention. It already holds numerous AI portfolios, ranging from generative AI (Gen AI) to AI healthcare, AI solutions and platforms, and smart factories. Among the companies selected in Korea AI Startup 100, many have received investments from Capstone Partners. Since 2020, Capstone Partners has been actively investing in Gen AI startups. The startups invested in at that time include Lunit Technologies (Lunit), FriendlyAI, and DeepX. All three companies received early-stage investments from Capstone Partners.

Capstone Partners plans to form new funds with the capital raised through the IPO. Song Eungang, CEO of Capstone Partners, said, "We will continue to actively support the growth of capable startups and help drive innovation."