New $80 million Israel-Korea fund established for DeepTech investments
New $80 million Israel-Korea fund established for DeepTech investments
The bilateral fund was set up by the South Korean Government, NH Bank, and OurCrowd and will target roughly 30 Korean and Israeli ventures
The South Korean government has selected the Israeli online global venture investing platform OurCrowd to co-manage a new bilateral investment fund designed to invest $80 million in both countries. So far $48 million has already been raised by the Korean partners of the fund, NH Venture Investment and Korea Growth Investment Corporation (K-Growth); OurCrowd is currently raising funds from its network of 240,000 investors worldwide.
The bilateral fund, known formally as The NH-OC Global Open Innovation Fund, is preparing to invest in roughly 25-30 startups across both countries that focus on core technology sectors such as semiconductors, robotics, automotive, quantum computing, cybersecurity, digital health, and more.
"The establishment of the Israel-Korea bilateral fund with the backing of the South Korean government is wonderful news for Israeli high-tech," said Jon Medved, CEO of OurCrowd. "South Korea is looking at Israeli innovation to establish its position in the industries of the future that it strives to lead by the end of the decade and beyond. Therefore, apart from the fund's investments, Israeli DeepTech companies will receive direct access to the South Korean industrial giants and will be able to forge collaborations on a global scale, including in the Asia-Pacific markets. South Korean startups on the other hand will benefit from exposure to Israel’s deep global connections to leading venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, and family offices which will accelerate their access to foreign tech innovation ecosystems and much-needed capital."
South Korea’s economy is the fourth largest in Asia and 13th largest worldwide. Its GDP grew by 4.1% in 2021 and is also the fifth-largest manufacturing power in the world after China, the United States, Japan, and Germany. In 2022, Israel exported $1.12 billion to South Korea and South Korea exported $1.26 billion respectively.
The fund combines partners with access to Korean conglomerates as well as the $48 million in funds already committed. It is backed by K-Growth, an agency of the Korean government that invests policy funds to achieve strategic objectives, on behalf of the Korean Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy (MOTIE). It is jointly managed by NH Venture Investment and OurCrowd General Partner as co-GPs.
"K-Growth has established this fund to support the global expansion of Korean companies through open innovations with global high-tech enterprises such as innovative Israeli companies," added Kim Hyun Jin, CEO of NH Venture Investment. "We expect to find Israeli innovation through OurCrowd’s extensive Israeli and Global network, to collaborate with Korean high-tech startups to grow together through this fund."
OurCrowd was founded by Medved in 2013 to democratize venture capital investment, and as of 2024, it has more than $2.3 billion in commitments and has deployed capital into more than 440 portfolio companies and 56 funds across five continents. NH Venture Investment was established as the ninth subsidiary and investment arm of NongHyup Financial Group, Korea's leading financial group.