The Korea Association of Startup Accelerators (KAIA, President Jeon Hwa-seong) announced that the '2026 Startup Investor Summit' held at the Busan Asti Hotel from January 29th to 30th was successfully concluded with the participation of approximately 400 investment professionals.
Co-hosted by the Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Technology Venture Investment Center, with the Pusan National University Startup Support Team and the Busan Economic Promotion Agency as partners, this event was themed "Beyond Capital." This summit, marking the 10th anniversary of the accelerator industry, is expected to present a new, private-sector-led investment paradigm.
The event brought together accelerators (ACs), venture capitalists (VCs), and lenders (LPs) from across the country, focusing on sharing survival and growth strategies in response to changing market conditions. Keynote speeches and main sessions presented various hypotheses and visions for the future of the industry. KAIA President Jeon Hwa-seong emphasized 2026 as the first year accelerators will expand their role beyond mere investors to become trusted infrastructure and architects of the ecosystem.
Park Ji-woong, CEO of Fast Track Asia, shared his 10 years of experience in company building and expressed his outlook that the venture builder model could become a new equation for future investment success.
This summit drew attention as a large-scale forum for exchange between LPs and GPs. Korea Venture Investment Corporation announced its 2026 mother fund investment plan, and various LPs, including major policy finance institutions and local governments, participated and shared investment directions. KAIA also presented a plan to revitalize the local startup ecosystem. Association Chairman Jeon Hwa-seong explained that the goal is to foster local startups and strengthen the self-reliance of local ACs by expanding TIPS and LIPS.
Timely topics were also discussed, including investment strategies leveraging AI as a decision-making partner and the introduction of secondary funds. A KAIA representative assessed the enthusiasm of the participants as evidence of interest in new investment rules and announced that the organization will provide growth opportunities for its member companies by expanding its LP network, activating LIPS, and building data infrastructure.
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