New Paradigm Invest, Recruiting Companies for Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] New Paradigm Investment, the operator of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' startup support program 'TIPS,' announced on the 18th the ‘2022 Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program,’ a plan for focused rapid investment in 15 promising startups.

New Paradigm Investment, which formed the New Paradigm (NP) Innovation Growth No. 5 Private Investment Association (11.1 billion KRW) last year, has completed the ‘NP Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program,’ which consolidates all the startup value-up know-how accumulated over five years since its founding, and is launching its first recruitment.

Jehyun Park, CEO of New Paradigm Investment, stated, “Following the mobile big bang era, in the new 4th Industrial Revolution big bang era, capable startups that can solve market problems and customer difficulties can rapidly grow into unicorn companies through business model and technology advancement and quick follow-up investments.” He added, “Through the Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program, we plan to focus support on 15 startups annually and grow more than five of them into baby unicorns.”

The difference of the ‘NP Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program’ from other programs is that it follows a customized schedule. Instead of having a uniform document submission period and review period, the investment team promptly reviews the IR materials as soon as they are received and makes investment decisions.

Through processes such as industry research, competitor analysis, business model advancement, and accounting diagnosis, the program will provide the most necessary initial seed funding role for startups to grow simultaneously with the investment. Additionally, every half-year, New Paradigm will accept investment applications from a limited number of startups it can support and proceed with investment and intensive value-up support.

Specific support programs following New Paradigm’s initial investment of 200 million to 500 million KRW include ▲ immediate recommendation for the TIPS program (500 million to 700 million KRW) ▲ support for securing additional funds through Kibo Angel and Shinbo YouConnect (guarantee support of 300 million to 1 billion KRW) ▲ follow-up investment (around 500 million KRW) for existing invested companies that have advanced their BM and secured early performance indicators ▲ co-investment with partner companies (over 2 billion KRW), among others.

New Paradigm also plans to support business collaboration among family companies that have already received investment from them. For startups that have achieved business and technology advancement results, they intend to swiftly conduct follow-up investments with venture capital (VC) partners to nurture them as baby unicorn candidates within one year.

Last year, New Paradigm made a total investment of 4.7 billion KRW, including 13 new companies and follow-up investments in 4 companies. Among the 41 portfolio companies currently held, Blue M Tech, Binsen, Artifriends, and Spidercraft have grown into baby unicorn-level companies within three years of investment.

The recruitment for participating companies in this Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program will be held from today until March 15. Eligibility requirements are startups within three years of founding in the 4th Industrial Revolution and healthcare sectors.

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