Smilegate Investment Forms 30 Billion KRW Fintech-Dedicated Investment Fund

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Smilegate Investment announced on the 31st that it has formed the ‘Smilegate Fintech 1st Investment Association (hereinafter Fintech 1st Fund)’ worth 30 billion KRW and will begin discovering and investing in companies leading the future financial sector.

The formation of this Fintech 1st Fund is the first step in Smilegate Group’s announced plan to launch a financial group. Earlier this year, Smilegate Group revealed its vision to establish a global financial group through affiliate separation and introduce a financial platform combining new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

The company expects that the fund raised this time will contribute to the development and nurturing of new financial technologies and further help improve the financial service environment. To this end, Smilegate Holdings invested 29 billion KRW as the sole investor in this Fintech 1st Fund.

The main investment area is expected to focus on the securities sector within the existing financial industry. The fund will focus on new technologies and services that allow more people to easily and conveniently enjoy financial benefits and innovate customers’ transaction experiences.

The entire portfolio is expected to consist of around 20 companies. Investments of approximately 500 million to 2 billion KRW will be made in early to mid-stage innovative fintech companies from Pre A to Series B stages.

Seo Kyung-woo, Senior Team Leader and the representative fund manager of this fund, said, “The company has studied promising future industries including fintech for several years to prepare the fund,” and added, “We will make full use of our experience investing in excellent domestic and international fintech businesses such as Wadiz, Fount, and Akuraku to successfully operate the first dedicated fintech fund.”

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