1.2 Trillion Won Invested in Deep Tech Startups in H1... Leading Overall Investment

Venture Investment in First Half Reaches 2.7 Trillion Won, Up 19% YoY
Deep Tech New Investment Increases by 80%

Investment in the deep tech sector surged in the first half of this year.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the trends of domestic deep tech startups for the first half of 2024 on the 28th. The trends were analyzed through a full survey of 1,228 companies that received investments from venture capital firms and funds under the 'Venture Investment Act,' as well as 1,471 companies (including duplicates) that received investment-linked support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, such as TIPS.

Deep tech startups are leading the recovery in venture investment. New investments by venture capital firms and others in the first half of 2024 (2.7 trillion KRW) increased by 19% compared to the same period last year, sustaining the market recovery. Among these, new investments in the deep tech sector (1.2 trillion KRW) surged by 80% during the same period, showing overwhelming growth compared to other sectors.

In particular, the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, aerospace, and eco-friendly technologies attracted attention. Investment in the AI sector (270 billion KRW) increased by 447% compared to the first half of 2023, cloud sector investment (130 billion KRW) rose by 198%, aerospace sector investment (48 billion KRW) grew by 156%, and eco-friendly technology investment (150 billion KRW) jumped by 152%.

Large-scale fundraising was also largely driven by deep tech startups. In the first half of 2024, Rebelion, Upstage, and DeepX, all deep tech startups, each secured investments exceeding 100 billion KRW.

Analysis of 1,471 companies selected for government support programs showed a significant proportion of deep tech startups in startup support projects. Over the past three years (2022?2024), about 80% of companies selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ representative investment-linked support programs, such as TIPS and the Global Unicorn Project, were deep tech startups.

This is a very high level compared to the estimated share of the deep tech sector in the venture investment market (about 47% based on investment scale). The Ministry of SMEs and Startups recently announced the 'Super-gap AI Startup Level-up Strategy' and plans to establish a new global startup hub from the second half of the year, where deep tech startups can settle.

Meanwhile, the Ministry plans to enhance the timeliness of officially produced venture investment statistics in accordance with laws, enabling rapid understanding of market conditions.

Accordingly, statistics related to new investments and fund formations by venture capital firms will be disclosed monthly on the Korea Venture Capital Association website starting from the first half of this year.

For statistics that combine venture capital firms and new technology business financiers under the 'Specialized Credit Finance Business Act,' data collection for new technology finance companies is conducted quarterly, so these statistics will continue to be published quarterly as before. The first half of the year’s data is scheduled to be announced in August.

Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, stated, “Deep tech startups are key players that attract global talent and capital, lead technological innovation, and ultimately determine national competitiveness.” She added, “Since it has been confirmed that investor interest in domestic deep tech startups is considerable, the government will steadily promote related support, including the establishment of a new global startup hub.”