Altos Ventures Recruits Shin Jung-hwan and Ahn Sang-il as Venture Partners

Former Kakao Vice President Shin Jeong-hwan and Former Hyperconnect CEO Ahn Sang-il Join

Altos Ventures, a Korean-American venture capital firm in the United States, announced on the 6th that it has recruited former Kakao CTO and Vice President Shin Jeong-hwan and former Hyperconnect co-founder and CEO Ahn Sang-il as venture partners. Altos Ventures plans to strengthen its portfolio company support capabilities with the two venture partners and accelerate the discovery of promising early-stage companies in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology fields.

Partner Shin Jeong-hwan graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Architecture and began his career as a software engineer at NHN. He then served as team leader at NHN Japan and head of NHN Business Platform before joining Kakao as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). During his tenure at Kakao, Partner Shin successfully improved and monetized key services such as KakaoTalk and KakaoStory, as well as led technology integration projects. He also contributed to strengthening company-wide data utilization capabilities and accelerating the transition to an in-house cloud, driving Kakao’s technological growth.

Shin Jeong-hwan, former Vice President of Kakao (left), Ahn Sang-il, former CEO of Hyperconnect

Partner Ahn Sang-il graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and gained diverse experience as a serial entrepreneur by founding six startups. In 2014, he co-founded Hyperconnect, developing the global video chat platform Azar and live streaming service Hakuna Live, expanding services to 230 countries worldwide and growing Hyperconnect into a global company. After selling Hyperconnect to the global company Match Group in 2021, Partner Ahn led global technology service innovation as Match Group’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) for the Asia-Pacific region.

Partner Shin joined Altos Ventures in September last year, and Partner Ahn joined in November. The two partners will assist portfolio companies in growth strategies related to technology and product development, as well as operational efficiency. They also plan to actively discover and nurture promising early-stage startups in AI and advanced technology sectors.

An Altos Ventures representative said, “Partners Shin Jeong-hwan and Ahn Sang-il are experts with outstanding capabilities in technology development and entrepreneurial experience. As innovative startups based on AI continue to emerge globally in the IT industry, we expect the two partners to lead the discovery and growth of promising companies based on their rich technical expertise, organizational management experience, and deep insights.”

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