Stonebridge Ventures Forms 160 Billion KRW Fund... Operating Assets Surpass 1 Trillion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Jihwan Park] Stonebridge Ventures has surpassed 1 trillion KRW in assets under management (AUM) by forming a new fund worth 160 billion KRW.

Stonebridge Ventures announced that its AUM has exceeded 1 trillion KRW, reaching 1.093 trillion KRW, which is more than three times the 389.8 billion KRW recorded at the end of 2018. The company stated that its excellent fund management performance has helped attract capital.

On the 11th, Stonebridge Ventures held a general meeting to establish the ‘Stonebridge DX Business Restructuring Investment Association’ with a scale of 160 billion KRW. The fund aims to invest in industries that can benefit from the industrial structural changes accelerated by digital transformation due to COVID-19. Representative investment sectors include data and artificial intelligence (AI), future mobility, energy, semiconductors, and biohealthcare.

The ‘Stonebridge DX Business Restructuring Investment Association’ is the first fund since Stonebridge Ventures’ establishment to receive investment from the National Pension Service. In addition to the National Pension Service, the Korea Fund of Funds invested 50 billion KRW, and POSCO contributed 11 billion KRW. Stonebridge Ventures plans to quickly secure additional investors to increase the fund size to over 200 billion KRW and proceed with a second closing.

The rapid increase in assets under management was largely due to high operational performance. According to the liquidation fund performance announced last year by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Stonebridge Ventures ranked first in venture fund returns over the past five years. In 2020, two funds were liquidated with internal rates of return (IRR) of 25% and 20.9%, respectively, and in December last year, another fund was liquidated with an IRR of 33.4%.

The lead fund manager is Partner Dongyeol Choi. Partner Choi led investments and exits in Suar Lab and GoBio Lab. Key management personnel include Executive Director Seunghyun Lee, who has strengths in IT and bio innovation technology investments; Director Hyunki Kim, who has led investments in bio and healthcare sectors; and Director Youngdon Song, who has continuously managed technology sector investments.

Partner Dongyeol Choi said, "This fund aims for Stonebridge’s unique investment approach of aggressive and proactive early-stage investments, multiple follow-up investments, and scale-up nurturing," adding, "We plan to expand investments in core areas of the digital transformation trend." To successfully achieve this, four of Stonebridge’s top screening officers will participate as key personnel to challenge the highest returns in history.

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