For Southeast Asia, it seems like the next waves of Korean influence could come from the startup space.

Here’s KIPSEA! Known as Korea Investment Partners Southeast Asia, this $60M fund will focus on seed to Series B startups that plan to expand into South Korea.

• Extra Scoop: They’ve even got their very own Singapore office!

LP check. The fund’s Limited Partners are from South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore, like Samsung Life Insurance, Korea Development Bank, Korea Growth Investment Corporation, Woomi Global, Mirana Ventures, and Korea Investment & Securities.

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😶‍🌫️ All eyes on SEA?

Synclare Kim (KIPSEA head) told TechCrunch that the VC firm is interested in SEA because of its fast market growth.

Apart from that, the region is also attractive for Korean companies because of the large population size—it’s the third most populous region in the world!

• They’ll invest anywhere from $2M to $3M per check.
• Around 60% of the fund will be allocated to first investments, while the rest is reserved for follow-on funding and for Korean companies to expand in SEA.

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🇰🇷 Korea first

Founders, we know how tough it is to grow and scale to new markets. If you want to make your global expansion plans a little less complicated, Kim says you should consider South Korea!

• You’ve got connections. KIPSEA says it can aid startups with consultancy, follow-up investments, and connections to its Asia-wide network of investors.

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🎤 More on KIP

Launched in 1986, KIP has invested in 900+ companies including local entertainment giants Kakao, Naver, and YG Entertainment (yes, the company behind BLACKPINK).

• Some past SEA investments include Vietnam’s Tiki.vn and Indonesia’s Halodoc.

Flashback. East Ventures and SV Investment launched their $100M fund for SEA-based startups earlier this month. Shinhan Venture Investment also earmarked 50% of their $200M fund for startups in the region.