[VC Now](19) Capstone Partners "AI and Robots Will Change the World... Investing in 'New Collar' Entrepreneurs"

Song Eun-gang, CEO of Capstone Partners, Interview
"Market Will Shift from Platform Economy to Agent Economy"
"AI and Robotics Adoption Will Determine Corporate Productivity and Competitiveness"

Editor's NoteVenture capitalists (VCs) nurture early-stage companies that will become the pillars of future industries at the forefront of the capital market. Although the VC industry is experiencing a downturn due to the global economic recession and high interest rates, efforts to identify and grow promising companies continue unabated. Asia Economy meets a variety of investment firms, from large-scale VCs with accumulated experience and know-how to emerging VCs, to hear about their investment strategies and stories.

"The next five years are crucial. During this time, companies that will lead future markets by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) will emerge. Individuals, companies, and investors must not miss this opportunity."

Song Eun-gang, CEO of Capstone Partners, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Song Eun-gang, CEO of Capstone Partners, is a veteran with nearly 30 years of experience in the venture capital (VC) industry. In a recent meeting at Capstone Partners' office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Song emphasized when asked about the industries he is focusing on, "AI and robotics," adding, "Especially generative AI and humanoids will change the world. The future of individuals and companies will depend on how well they prepare for and utilize these technologies."

Proactive Investment in AI and Robotics Startups... "Utilization Across Construction, Logistics, Senior Care, and More"

After graduating from Seoul National University’s Department of Computational Statistics (the predecessor of the Computer Engineering Department), Song completed a master's degree in Computer Science at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and joined Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in 1988. "I thought I would live my life as a Samsung Electronics engineer," he said. His VC career began in 1997 when he was dispatched to Cambridge Samsung Partners as head of the investment team. He later participated in founding MVP Venture Investment in 2000 and established Capstone Partners in 2008. Capstone Partners went public on KOSDAQ in 2018, becoming a listed VC, and has grown into a VC managing assets under management (AUM) of approximately 500 billion KRW across about 20 funds.

The industry Song focuses on most is AI and robotics. He said, "After Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, the world completely changed around smartphones in about ten years. AI will bring revolutionary changes as well." He added, "The robotics field, which has faced operational difficulties, is evolving into 'humanoids' by combining AI technology using large language models (LLMs). The use of robots will increase in various fields such as construction sites, logistics centers, and senior care."

Song Eun-gang, CEO of Capstone Partners, office. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

He also predicted market changes driven by technological advances. In particular, he foresaw a shift in the B2C (business-to-consumer) market from a platform economy to an agent economy. "Until now, platform operators have controlled customers and exerted influence, but in the future, personal AI assistants will handle everything, leading to a transition of power from platforms to agents," he said. He also noted that AI adoption will determine productivity and competitiveness in the B2B (business-to-business) market.

Accordingly, Capstone Partners has proactively made early-stage investments since the late 2010s when AI startups began to emerge in earnest. Notably, AI semiconductor company DeepX yielded more than ten times the investment returns. Abley, which introduced the first 'AI-based personalized recommendation' service in a fashion shopping app, also saw rapid growth in corporate value after investment, becoming a successful investment case.

"Focusing on New Collar Founders Preparing for the Future... Investments in Lytton, Liner, etc."

Capstone Partners’ investment philosophy centers on 'new collar founders.' Song explained, "The term 'new collar' has been used for about ten years. In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where machines replace human work regardless of blue-collar or white-collar distinctions, it refers to people who have found the answer to 'what humans should do.'" He outlined five conditions for new collar founders: ▲ possession of digital literacy ▲ ability to foresee a future changed by technology ▲ ability to adapt independently ▲ desire to change the world ▲ ability to work with others.

A representative startup recently invested in is Lytton Technologies (Lytton), which has the largest monthly active users (MAU) in Korea. Lytton provides AI search, image generation, document, website, and YouTube video summarization services. It also offers services that automatically complete reports and self-introductions. Seventy percent of its users are in their teens and twenties. Just 1 year and 10 months after launching the service, it surpassed 5 million monthly active users (MAU) in October last year.

Capstone also invested in Liner (formerly Aurum Planet), which provides a hyper-personalized information curation platform service. Liner’s highlighting service allows users to select important information themselves, which the system learns and then provides highly relevant information. In addition to general search, it supports 'academic search.' It ranked in the top 10 consumer apps twice consecutively in the rankings released by the world’s largest VC, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

Song Eun-gang, CEO of Capstone Partners, is being interviewed by Asia Economy. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Regarding Korea’s AI competitiveness, Song emphasized, "The AI departments of major universities need to expand their enrollment," adding, "Also, education is necessary so that students in any major can effectively use AI as a tool and understand the changes it brings."

He also noted, "About one-quarter of advanced AI talent goes to the U.S. big tech companies. Korea’s R&D funding is about one-tenth of that of the U.S., and treatment is insufficient," but added, "However, China’s DeepSeek developed its team with only 150 people. If limited R&D funds are used as efficiently as possible and AI is applied to specific fields to create new models, Korea can also secure greater competitiveness."

Capstone Partners plans to focus even more on early-stage investments this year. Song said, "We usually invest 500 million to 1 billion KRW in early-stage investments, and if good results are shown, follow-up investments of 2 billion to 10 billion KRW are made. Our current portfolio includes about 150 companies. Every year, we conduct about ten new early-stage investments and ten follow-up investments. Investing in good people and continuously following companies that work hard is the best risk management."