Synclare Kim, Head of Korea Investment Partners Southeast Asia
Korea Investment Partners (KIP) has closed US$60 million for its first flagship Southeast Asia venture capital fund.
Korea Investment Partners Southeast Asia (KIPSEA) Venture Fund I has attracted institutional investors from South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, including Samsung Life Insurance, Korea Development Bank, Korea Growth Investment Corporation, D.camp, Woomi Global, Mirana Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities Asia.
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The fund will be dedicated to investing in seed to Series B, high-growth technology startups in the region, with a small proportion reserved for South Korean companies looking to expand into the region. Key focus sectors are fintech, proptech, and enterprise software.
Incorporated in 1986, KIP is one of the largest venture capital firms in South Korea, having made over 900 investments. With more than US$3 billion in assets under management, some of its notable portfolio companies include Kakao, Naver, YG Entertainment (all South Korea), Halodoc (Indonesia), and Tiki.vn (Vietnam).
KIP is a subsidiary of publicly-listed Korea Investment Holdings, a financial conglomerate with multiple financial verticals, including securities, asset management, banking, credit finance, private equity, and real estate.
KIP first established its foothold in Southeast Asia by launching the GEC-KIP Technology and Innovation Fund in 2018, with Singapore as the headquarters. It has been actively deploying capital to promising startups within the region.
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“Underpinned by strong macroeconomic factors and the development of technological and digital capabilities within the region, Southeast Asia remains a key target market for KIP. We target to utilise KIP’s strategic networks and the strength of its ecosystem to identify and nurture early-stage, high potential and category-defining companies across the region,” said Synclare Kim, Head of KIPSEA.
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