Coupang and Toss Gather to Explore Venture Investment Policy Directions for Fostering Next-Generation Unicorns

Minister SungSook Han of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups
Chairs 'Venture Investment Policy Roundtable for Fostering AI and Deep Tech Sectors'

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that on September 18, Minister SungSook Han presided over the "Venture Investment Policy Roundtable for Fostering AI·Deep Tech Unicorns," which brought together promising companies in the AI and deep tech sectors, established unicorn companies, and venture investors.

This roundtable was organized to discuss additional policy directions from various perspectives to generate tangible results, following the selection of fund managers for the "Next Unicorn Project," a flagship venture investment program for fostering AI·deep tech unicorns, which was completed on September 11.

To begin with, established unicorn companies that have transformed people's lives through innovative services such as overnight delivery and fintech (finance + technology), namely Coupang and Toss, shared their growth experiences and proposed support plans for emerging companies as well as policies needed for further growth. Park Daejun, CEO of Coupang, stated, "We have decided to contribute 75 billion won to help innovative AI startups, which are the foundation for the government's goal of becoming a top three AI powerhouse, to scale up." He added, "Based on Coupang's know-how in AI-driven logistics innovation, we will provide generous support such as access to AI cloud infrastructure and PoC collaboration, so that invested companies can create essential success stories for global expansion."

SungSook Han, Minister of SMEs and Startups.

Seo Hyunwoo, Chief Financial Officer of Toss, emphasized the importance of bold scale-up investments by the government, saying, "Large-scale investments by policy financial institutions during the scale-up phase of companies have sent positive signals to the market and greatly helped attract global investment."

Venture capital firms selected to directly manage the Next Unicorn Project fund also attended, sharing their future investment directions and offering policy suggestions necessary for the growth of their portfolio companies. Yoon Beomryeol, CEO of KB Investment, which was chosen for the scale-up deep tech sector, said, "This fund is the first policy fund set up with the primary goal of making scale-up investments of over 10 billion won per company on average," and added, "As a financial sector venture capital firm, we will actively participate in line with the new government's 'productive finance' policy." Ahn Sinyoung, CEO of Acestone Ventures, which was selected for the startup AI convergence sector, stated, "We will identify and invest in promising startups in the AI front-end industry that create value for consumers and end users based on core AI technologies."

There was also time to discuss the policy tasks needed for promising companies in the AI and deep tech sectors to make the leap to unicorn status in the future. Given the nature of AI and deep tech, large-scale facility investment and mass production are essential, highlighting the need to establish a comprehensive support system encompassing investment, guarantees, and tax incentives. The importance of strategically allocating investment resources in response to rapidly changing technological environments, supporting overseas investment attraction for global expansion, and expanding networking opportunities was also discussed.

Minister SungSook Han stated, "If the know-how and networks of established companies are combined with the new technologies and ideas of emerging companies, and bold investments from venture capital support them, a virtuous cycle of innovation will be established, leading to the creation of more unicorn companies and, ultimately, national big tech champions." She added, "The vivid on-the-ground opinions and policy suggestions discussed today will be reflected in the 'Comprehensive Plan for Becoming a Top Four Venture Powerhouse' to be announced in the second half of the year, as we work to build a robust venture investment market and a globally competitive innovation ecosystem to support the birth of unicorns."