Why Did Gangnam-gu Establish a Startup Fund of 31.5 Billion Won?

Raised over 10 billion KRW more than the initial target of 20 billion KRW... W Ventures, acting as the managing partner, focuses on investing in ICT industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) has completed the first round of investor recruitment for the Gangnam Startup Fund, “SmartSF-WE Untact Fund No. 2,” worth 31.5 billion KRW, and is now moving forward with active investments.

This fund, established to nurture startups in Gangnam, was formed with over 10 billion KRW more than the initial target amount of 20 billion KRW.

WeVentures, serving as the general partner, plans to focus investments on information and communication technology (ICT) industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.

Additionally, through a second closing scheduled for September, the fund size is expected to expand to over 50 billion KRW.

The fund mandates investing at least 500% of the district’s contribution (1 billion KRW) into companies located in Gangnam-gu, serving as a catalyst for the local startup ecosystem. This is an increase from the initially set mandatory investment ratio of 200%.

Meanwhile, as of the end of February, out of 10,035 startups in Seoul, 2,115 (21.2%) are located in Gangnam.

Kim Mi-wook, Director of the Employment Policy Division, stated, “More than half of Gangnam startups are ICT-based future-oriented companies. We will invest over 40% of the total fund amount within this year to revitalize the startup ecosystem, which has stagnated due to COVID-19, and contribute to fostering global unicorn companies through active follow-up investments.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.