– Connecting Korea and the UK through cross-border funds… Helping Korean startups advance into the global market
– “Diversity is the seed of innovation”
-Changed company name to ‘Simsan Innovation’ upon acquisition of accelerator license… Focus on investment and fostering of local startups
-“We will foster 10,000 global VCs regardless of age, race, gender, nationality, religion, etc.”
Global expansion of startups is no longer an option but a necessary strategy. However, only 2.8% of Korean startups have experience in overseas expansion. Obstacles include lack of information on overseas markets, difficulty in raising funds, and lack of local experience. To respond to this, the government is promoting various global support policies and strengthening policies to attract overseas investment.
In this flow, UK-based venture capital (VC) Simsan Ventures is leading the innovation of the global startup ecosystem through the 'Cross-Border Fund' and 'Divers Fund' that connect Korea, the UK, and India. The fund supports founders and young fund managers from various backgrounds and focuses on expanding the diversity of the startup ecosystem. It proposes a new innovation model that breaks away from existing investment methods and helps startups grow in the global market.
Connecting global innovation with a 'cross-border fund' linking Korea, the UK, and India
Simsan Ventures is a venture capital (VC) founded in 2020 by brothers Sahil and Sagal Chopra and CEO Seunghwa Lee. They founded the company based on their relationship at Warwick Business School and are discovering startups with technological prowess by utilizing their global network. They have focused on investing in early-stage startups in innovative technology fields such as AI, big data, and blockchain. In particular, they are attracting the attention of global investors through cross-border funds connecting Korea, the UK, and India.
Simsan Ventures operates a cross-border fund to connect the startup ecosystems of Korea and London. Lee Seung-hwa, CEO of Simsan Ventures Korea, explained, “London is the world’s third-largest startup hub, and Seoul has grown to become the ninth,” and “Since there is no fund connecting the two cities, we decided to act as a bridge ourselves.”
The cross-border fund aims to support Korean startups’ overseas expansion and attract follow-up investments to achieve greater growth. CEO Seunghwa Lee emphasized, “Korean startups have world-class technological prowess, but their relatively low valuations make them attractive for investment,” and “Interest from global investors is increasing, and in particular, many companies with competitive technologies are expected to make active investments.”
Sowing the Seeds of Innovation… ‘Diversity Fund’
Simsan Ventures emphasizes that diversity in the investment market is essential for the development of the startup ecosystem. If investors with the same background invest with the same perspective, only certain types of startups will have opportunities, which will hinder the diversity and innovation of the ecosystem.
“The European VC market is centered around white men over 45, but we want to create cases where young fund managers in their early 30s can succeed,” said CEO Lee Seung-hwa. “Our goal is to foster startups together with emerging fund managers.”
“ True innovation happens when diverse investors and diverse entrepreneurs create success stories.”
To achieve this, Simsan Ventures is providing opportunities to young fund managers and founders from various backgrounds through the 'Diversity Fund'. In particular, it operates the 'Diversity Fund' that gives priority to young, female, regional, and foreign founders, and continues to discover meaningful investment cases, such as the case of Boxladder, which invested in a founder from North Korea. CEO Lee said, "We evaluate the founder's technical skills and global capabilities, not their background, and invest in differentiated stories," expressing his will to lead innovation in the Korean startup ecosystem.
A challenge started to innovate the local startup ecosystem
Activating the local startup ecosystem is also a key goal of Simsan Ventures. CEO Seunghwa Lee presents a vision of “expanding the startup ecosystem centered on the metropolitan area to the region to enhance global competitiveness,” and is developing specific strategies to realize this vision.
Simsan Ventures Korea, currently located in Seoul, is scheduled to move to Daegu. To this end, it has acquired an accelerator license under the name of ‘Simsan Innovation’ and plans to focus on investing in and fostering local startups. CEO Lee emphasized, “Local startups also have sufficient technological prowess and growth potential, and we will support them so that they can be competitive in the global market.”
The representative said, “I do not believe that regional specificity is a limitation to the growth of startups. The success of a startup depends not on its region but on the company’s capabilities and technological prowess.” He added, “I hope that unicorn companies can be born in regions other than Seoul.”
The representative introduced ENERCAMP, an electric vehicle charging solution company, as a representative case of a local entrepreneur entering the global market. Simsan Ventures invested in ENERCAMP through Pre-Series A and is continuing follow-up measures to support growth in the global market. ENERCAMP is developing technology based on its Daegu headquarters and is currently preparing to enter the Chinese, US, and Indonesian markets. The representative evaluated ENERCAMP as “a model case of a local entrepreneur with technological prowess and global scalability.”
In this way, Simsan Ventures aims to promote balanced development of the entire startup environment in Korea by activating the local startup ecosystem, while continuously discovering innovative startups that can compete in the global market.
Long-term vision for preparing for the future in 2030
Simsan Ventures’ long-term vision is to foster 10,000 global VCs regardless of age, race, gender, nationality, or religion over the next 20 years. If they invest in 10 startups per year, it is expected that 1 million companies will lead innovation. CEO Lee Seung-hwa emphasized that “VCs with diverse backgrounds must emerge for the startup ecosystem to become more diverse, and diversity is the cornerstone of innovation,” and announced plans to operate a training program for new fund managers through Simsan Academy.
Globalization: The Future of Korea's Startup Ecosystem
Simsan Ventures is actively utilizing local partnerships and global networks to help Korean startups smoothly enter overseas markets. CEO Seunghwa Lee said, “We go beyond simple financial support to invested companies and provide consulting on overseas market entry, follow-up investment attraction, and growth strategy,” and plans to accelerate the global expansion of Korean startups through this.
In addition, we are creating a diversified exchange platform by cooperating with various investment companies to jointly discover promising local companies and support overseas startups to settle into the Korean market. To this end, we are actively participating in inbound startup fostering programs such as the 'Grand Challenge' and will continue to challenge and invest in the global market in the future.
Simsan Ventures plans to expand its investment starting in 2025. The CEO stated, “We see this year as the low point of the Korean startup ecosystem, and we will actively invest to discover companies with technological prowess and help them enter the global market,” and “We will actively support Korea so that it can grow into an innovation hub in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Simsan Ventures is expected to achieve results in expanding the diversity of the startup ecosystem by supporting the global leap of Korean startups through cross-border funds and diversity strategies, as well as in activating local startups and building global networks.
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