00:02you're listening to ai prism from seoul economic daily u.s top-tier vcs sequoia andreessen horowitz
00:10and mayfield are now actively funding korean-founded deep tech startups in silicon valley
00:17the number of new korean startups incorporated in the u.s went from 16 in 2022 to 40 in 2025
00:26moloco's korean subsidiary generated 62.7 billion won approximately 46 million u.s dollars in service
00:36revenue last year proof that building globally and investing locally is a viable model seoul city
00:44is launching a 4 trillion won approximately 2.9 billion u.s dollars venture fund the largest single
00:52municipal startup fund in korean history and the korean government has opened a one-stop support
00:59hub in menlo park 10 minutes from meta's headquarters it's tuesday july 21st let's look at what this means
01:08for startups and entrepreneurs in korea korean deep tech founders are gaining credibility in global
01:16markets not only from their own track records but from the institutional halo of samsung
01:22electronics and sk hynix whose semiconductor dominance has reshaped how silicon valley vcs evaluate korean
01:31technical talent the ecosystem is maturing 193 korean-founded companies are now operating in the u.s
01:40as of april 2026 and the most competitive founders are bypassing the domestic market entirely
01:48to target global scale from day one both the public and private sectors are now adjusting their support
01:55frameworks to reflect this shift here's what the numbers show pensive an ai exam grading startup founded
02:04by a uc berkeley graduate secured investment from mayfield with sequoia capital and andresen horowitz scout
02:12funds also participating in its series a a signal that formal follow-on investment from both firms
02:20is under active consideration pickle an ai avatar startup raised 4.5 million u.s dollars approximately 6.5
02:30billion won from y combinator and others after incorporating in silicon valley in 2025.
02:38malokko's korean subsidiary reported 62.7 billion won approximately 46 million u.s dollars in 2025 service
02:49revenue under a contract with its u.s parent employing approximately 180 people and paying over 30 billion
02:58won approximately 22 million u.s dollars in annual compensation in korea new korean startup incorporation
03:07in the u.s grew from 16 in 2022 to approximately 40 in 2025 with 193 korean-founded companies now
03:18operating stateside according to startup alliance data seoul city submitted a central investment review
03:26application for a 4 trillion won approximately 2.9 billion u.s dollars next economy seoul fund committing
03:35200 billion won approximately 146 million u.s dollars in public capital annually over four years across ai
03:46biotech k-culture early stage and scale-up categories targeting 100 advanced startups and 10 000 jobs
03:57the ministry of smes and startups opened the startup venture campus in menlo park in january 2026
04:06housing korea korea korea k-i-s-e-d and sbc under one roof with direct access to silicon valley
04:17vc networks
04:19so what does this mean for startups and entrepreneurs in korea earlier we said u.s top-tier vcs are
04:28now
04:28actively funding korean-founded deep tech startups in silicon valley here's what that actually means
04:35for you the samsung and sk hynix halo is real and being korean in deep tech especially ai semiconductors
04:45and hardware is now a positive credibility signal in u.s fundraising not a liability to manage
04:54the combination of seoul city's four trillion won fund the menlo park government hub and rising
05:01interest from top-tier u.s vcs means founders who can build globally while anchoring r d and hiring in
05:09korea are the exact profile both the public and private capital ecosystems are now optimizing for
05:17and the window to position yourself in that category is open right now three things to watch
05:26seoul city's central investment review approval for the next economy seoul fund
05:31if cleared the first 200 billion won in public capital begins deploying in 2027 with ai and biotech as
05:41priority categories follow-on investment decisions from sequoia and andresen horowitz
05:48on pensive scout fund participation is a stated precursor to formal investment
05:55a series b announcement would send a strong signal to the broader silicon valley community about korean
06:02deep tech and the korean government's evolving definition of which overseas incorporated korean
06:09startups qualify for public support if contribution to korea's economy replaces legal domicile as
06:17the qualifying criterion the pool of fundable founders expands significantly that's today's ai prism
06:26founders this episode was produced with ai assistance based on seoul economic daily reporting and
06:35reviewed by a human editor ai prism is a juan ifra award-winning series we'll be back tomorrow you've been
06:43listening to ai prism from seoul economic daily
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