'2024 Global Fund Management Company Selection Results'
1.5 Trillion KRW Investment from the Korea Fund of Funds... 15 Funds Selected
Domestic VCs Participate Alongside the US and UK
More than 1.2 trillion KRW worth of new funds will be established through the Global Fund investment project.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the results of the 2024 Global Fund overseas venture capital selection on the 1st. This year’s investment project was conducted on a record scale of 150 billion KRW. 80 companies applied for the investment project, recording the highest competition rate ever at 8 to 1.
A total of 15 funds were finally selected for the Global Fund investment project. Through the 150 billion KRW investment, new funds worth more than 1.2 trillion KRW are expected to be established. The fund managers consist of venture capitals (VCs) from various countries including 5 from the United States, 3 from Singapore, 2 from the United Kingdom, 2 from Japan, 2 from China (including Hong Kong), and 1 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups expects that additional investments in domestic startups will be made through the participation of major global investors. Among the fund managers in this investment project are the U.S. 'Third Prime Capital,' the U.K.'s 'Amadeus,' Japan's 'Global Brain,' and China's 'CICC.'
In particular, this investment project newly established a 'Overseas VC-Domestic VC' joint operation (Co-GP) track reflecting the requests of domestic investors who wished to participate in the Global Fund after Minister Oh Young-joo took office. Through this, three domestic venture capitals were also selected.
The Global Fund has so far invested 1.2 trillion KRW in 598 domestic companies, executing 1.7 times the investment compared to the 0.7 trillion KRW invested by the Korea Fund of Funds. Most of the funds are currently being managed, so the investment amount is expected to increase further. Notably, Viva Republica, Woowa Brothers, Danggeun Market, and Moloco have become success stories that grew through investments from the Global Fund.
Recently, many startups have attracted investments from the Global Fund and are actively securing follow-up investments and expanding globally. The startup 'GoPizza,' which makes pizza using robots, received 2.4 billion KRW from the Global Fund invested by the Korea Fund of Funds in 2018. Since then, it has accelerated global expansion to Thailand, India, Singapore, and recently secured follow-up investments worth 14 billion KRW from a Thai company. Other examples include the travel platform startup 'MyRealTrip' and the AI edutech startup 'Elis.'
Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "The Global Fund plays a significant role in the birth of domestic unicorns and offers startups not only the effect of attracting investment but also a great opportunity to connect with the networks of global investors." She added, "We will continue to fully support overseas investment attraction and global expansion of ventures and startups by raising more than 1 trillion KRW annually through the Global Fund."
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