Mirae Asset Venture Expands AI Investments and Draws Attention with Portfolio Exits

Considering Follow-up Investment in Physical AI Firm RealWorld
Expectations Rise for Exit from AI Semiconductor Company SemiFive

Mirae Asset Venture Investment is continuously expanding its investments in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. At the same time, its early-stage investment in the AI semiconductor specialist company SemiFive has recently entered the IPO process, making the realization of large-scale profits within the year increasingly likely.

According to the investment banking (IB) industry on August 1, Mirae Asset Venture Investment is currently considering a follow-up investment in RealWorld, a physical AI development company. This comes about eight months after the company participated in a 21 billion won seed investment round with other investors in December of last year. RealWorld was founded last year by Ryu Joonghee, former CEO of FuturePlay, and is focusing on developing the Robot Foundation Model (RFM), known as the "brain of robots." The company is currently seeking to raise approximately 50 billion won in new investments.

A representative from Mirae Asset Venture Investment stated, "The deal is still in progress and has not been finalized, but we are reviewing it positively." In particular, Ryu's experience in deep tech investment and nurturing at FuturePlay, his business network, and RealWorld's technological vision have all been highly regarded.

This year, the company is also accelerating the exit of its AI portfolio companies. SemiFive, an AI semiconductor design specialist in which Mirae Asset Venture Investment invested from its early days, has recently submitted a preliminary examination application to the Korea Exchange for a KOSDAQ listing. After the preliminary review, the company plans to submit a securities registration statement, conduct demand forecasting for institutional investors, and hold a public offering subscription. The KOSDAQ listing could take place as early as November.

SemiFive has raised a cumulative total of 240 billion won in investments since its founding in 2019. Of this, Mirae Asset Venture Investment has invested a total of 36.3 billion won over three rounds?seed, Series A, and Series B?making it the second-largest shareholder. Through this IPO, the company expects to recover at least 100 billion won, which would yield a return of more than twice the original investment.

The exit from AI advertising service startup Moloco is also pending. Moloco is targeting a NASDAQ listing next year and is currently facilitating the purchase of existing shares by overseas investors. Mirae Asset Venture Investment has invested a cumulative total of 72.3 billion won in Moloco so far and expects an investment return ranging from 30 billion to 85 billion won. To date, Mirae Asset Venture Investment has invested 257.9 billion won in 57 AI-related companies.

Lee Sangheon, a researcher at iM Securities, analyzed, "Not only will the valuation and capital gains from SemiFive be reflected in performance, but also the valuation gains from Moloco and capital gains from mid-sized portfolio companies. As a result, Mirae Asset Venture Investment's net profit this year is expected to increase significantly compared to last year, which is also likely to lead to an expansion of dividends."