The $80 million Israeli-Korean fund will invest in startups in deep tech sectors

Investment platform OurCrowd, the most active venture capital investment entity in Israel, has been selected by the South Korean government to manage a binational investment fund that will invest in startups in both countries. The binational fund’s fundraising goal is $80 million, and the fund’s Korean partners NH Venture Investment and K-Growth, which have access to some of Korea’s largest companies, have already raised $48 million. The OurCrowd platform currently raises capital from 240,000 qualified investors worldwide.

NH Venture Investment, which raised $16 million for the fund, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NongHyup, one of the top 5 financial corporations in South Korea with $400 billion in assets under management. K-Growth, which has raised $32 million, is also one of the largest financial groups in South Korea, handling most of the South Korean government’s technology investments (through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) aimed at achieving the country’s strategic goals. This fund manages nearly $40 billion. The fund is jointly managed by NH Venture Investment and OurCrowd.

The binational fund will invest in around 25-30 startups in both countries that focus on deeptech in areas such as semiconductors, robotics, automotive, quantum computing, cybersecurity, digital health and others.

John Medved, CEO of OurCrowd: “The establishment of the binational Israeli-Korean fund with the support of the South Korean government is now great news for the Israeli hi-tech sector. South Korea is looking to Israeli innovations to strengthen its position in the future industries it aims to lead by the end of the decade and beyond. Thanks to this, in addition to the fund’s investments, Israeli Diptech companies will have direct access to South Korean industrial giants and will be able to establish cooperation on a global scale, including on the Asia-Pacific markets. On the other hand, South Korean startups will benefit from Israel’s deep connections among leading venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and private investors (family offices), which will accelerate their penetration of innovative technology markets and the capital they require.

Kim Yoon Jin, CEO of NH Venture Investment: “K-Growth initiated the fund to support the expansion of Korean companies through open collaboration focused on technological innovation with global technology companies, such as innovative Israeli companies. Through the fund, we expect Korean startups to collaborate with Israeli innovations and grow together, with the help of OurCrowd’s extensive network spread across Israel and the world.”

South Korea’s economy is the 13th largest in the world and the fourth largest in Asia. Its gross domestic product grew 4.1% in 2021. South Korea is also the world’s fifth-largest manufacturing power after China, the US, Japan and Germany, and the world’s second largest investor in research and development as a percentage of GDP.

OurCrowd, founded in 2013 by John Medved, has become the most active venture capital investment institution in Israel in the last decade with over 240,000 registered qualified investors from 195 countries. Since its inception, OurCrowd has raised over $2.3 billion in investment commitments and has invested in over 440 portfolio companies and 56 investment funds to date, and has recorded 63 exits, including the Beyond Meat, Lemonade, Innoviz, Arbe, Alpha Tau, and Freightos issuances; Uber’s acquisition of Jump Bike; Canon’s acquisition of Briefcam; Continental’s acquisition of Argus; Oracle’s acquisition of Crosswise; Intel’s acquisition of Replay; Samsung’s acquisition of Corephotonics; Microsoft’s acquisition of CyberX; and Cisco’s acquisition of Kenna Security.