The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced the trends in new venture investment and venture fund formation in the first quarter of 2025 on the 20th. The main trends and implications are as follows.
◆ New venture investment and venture fund formation increased by 34% and 21%, respectively
In the first quarter of 2025, venture investment increased by 34.0% year-on-year to KRW 2.6 trillion, and the size of venture fund formation increased by 20.6% to KRW 3.1 trillion. This is the second highest performance ever, following the boom period of venture investment in 2022. The venture investment market, which began to shrink in late 2022, rebounded slightly in 2024 (new venture investment +9.5% compared to '23) and is continuing its growth in the first quarter of this year.
◆ Artificial intelligence and biotech startups attract large-scale investment
Investment performance by business history of invested companies showed a significant increase of 81.7% in early-stage companies established within 3 years compared to the same period of the previous year. Investment performance by industry showed a significant increase in 'video, performance, and music', while 'chemicals and materials' decreased compared to the same period of the previous year. This statistic reflects only the investment performance of the first quarter, and since the sample size is relatively small, there may be large fluctuations depending on the size or characteristics of individual investments. Therefore, continuous monitoring seems necessary to accurately grasp the business history and industry trends.
As a result of looking into investments by venture capital firms and unions, 10 out of 26 unlisted startups that attracted more than 10 billion won in investment in the first quarter of 2025 (38%) were confirmed to be startups based on artificial intelligence or biotechnology. 'Luton Technologies Co., Ltd.', which supports content production based on artificial intelligence technology, attracted a total investment of 83 billion won in the first quarter of 2025 alone, and was selected as one of the '1,000+ Ultra-Gap Startups' by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in early May, so rapid growth is expected in the future. 'Cellac Bio Co., Ltd.', located in Wonju, Gangwon-do, has also attracted attention from the industry for its rapid growth since its establishment in 2024, attracting 17.1 billion won in investment in the first quarter of 2025.
◆ Private venture fund investment increased by 31%, accounting for more than 80% of new formations in the first quarter, with the private sector leading the formation of new venture funds
The private investment amount of venture fund formation in the first quarter of this year was 2.6 trillion won, up 31.1% year-on-year. Private sector investment accounted for 83.5% of venture funds in the first quarter, leading the increase in new fund formation. In particular, ‘pension funds and mutual aid associations’ and ‘financial institutions’ increased by 47.8% and 41.4% year-on-year, respectively, and ‘general corporations’ also increased their investment by 37.7%. This is a positive signal for the venture investment market, and it can be seen that more private capital is contributing to startup growth and the ecosystem.
Kwak Jae-kyung, head of the Investment Management Supervision Division, said, “It is positive that the scale of venture investment has been on the rise since last year, and that the increase in investment and funds will continue in the first quarter of this year,” and added, “We will continue to actively invest in deep tech startups and push forward with institutional improvements and mother fund investments without a hitch so that private venture fund investments can expand.”
- See more related articles
You must be logged in to post a comment.