South Korean President Courts Silicon Valley VCs for Startup Investment

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with six leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms in San Francisco, signaling a concerted effort to attract investment into the nation's burgeoning startup ecosystem.

Presidential policy chief Kim Yong-beom described the gathering as a "resolution to nurture the next generation of our country's big tech players, like Samsung and SK." He emphasized that this engagement would extend beyond a single meeting or photograph, indicating a commitment to sustained collaboration.

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This is a resolution to nurture the next generation of our country's big tech players, like Samsung and SK.

The meeting included prominent VCs such as Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, and Khosla Ventures. These firms have a history of early investments in global tech giants like Apple, Nvidia, Google, Meta, Instagram, and OpenAI.

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The eye of these investors, who were at the starting point of most of the big tech companies that now move the world, is now turning towards Korea.

Kim highlighted the significant financial backing represented by the participating VCs, with a combined managed asset value of $313 billion (approximately 450 trillion won). This was further bolstered by the presence of the National Pension Service, one of the world's top three pension funds with assets totaling 1,690 trillion won. The initiative aims to leverage venture capital's role in fostering innovation, contrasting it with traditional government-led economic development plans.

"The eye of these investors, who were at the starting point of most of the big tech companies that now move the world, is now turning towards Korea," Kim stated, noting that Andreessen Horowitz's recent establishment of a Korean office is part of this trend. He expressed confidence that this meeting would serve as a seed for future collaboration, leading to a "great forest of startups."

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This meeting is not going to end with one meeting, one photograph.