The Seoul Metropolitan Government is advancing its ambitious initiative, the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’, to drive innovation and propel Korean startups to global success. This year, the city plans to invest 1.3 trillion won ($939 million USD), previously raised as part of the ‘Vision Fund’, with an additional goal of raising 1.175 trillion won ($845 million USD). Despite the recession in the venture investment industry last year, Seoul City created a fund worth KRW 1.3329 trillion ($939 million USD), achieving 125.2% of the target of KRW 1.065 trillion.
The ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’ represents a strategic effort to empower startups and position Seoul as a hub of innovation on the global stage. The ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’, announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2023, aims to create a 5 trillion won (approximately 3.7 billion USD) fund over a four-year period from 2023 to 2026. This initiative is designed to prevent the startup ecosystem from shrinking and to intensively invest in future strategic industries.
Industry-Specific Support
The focus of the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’ for 2024 is centered around investment in six major fields that require ecosystem strengthening (digital transformation, bio, advanced manufacturing, creative industries, first step companion, and scale-up).
The focus areas for investment include:
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Future Industries: Funding initiatives aimed at promoting high-tech sectors such as AI, digital transformation, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries.
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Rapid Recovery of Venture Market: Initiatives to stimulate the venture investment market, providing crucial support for startups to navigate challenges and seize growth opportunities.
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Timely Capital Injection: Directing investments earlier in the year to provide timely financial support for startups, enabling them to overcome obstacles and scale their operations.
This year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is taking proactive measures to revitalize the venture market. To address the challenges and help startups overcome the “Death Valley” phase, the city plans to accelerate its investment activities.
To achieve this goal, all aspects of the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’ for this year will be expedited. This includes making integrated investment announcements and selecting the management company within the first half of the year. The early execution of investments reflects the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and fostering a robust environment for startup development.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government, in collaboration with the private sector, established the Seoul Future Innovation Growth Fund, surpassing its original target amount by reaching 3.7 trillion won($2.6 billion USD), which is 287% of the initial goal. This substantial fund has already been invested in 1,377 companies, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting innovation and startup growth.
Building a Massive Startup Hub in Seoul Forest
In June 2023, Seoul announced ambitious plans to establish the world’s largest startup hub called “Seoul Startup Forest” within Seoul Forest by 2027. With a planned area of 105,000 square meters, this mega hub aims to accommodate over 1,700 startups and create an all-encompassing ecosystem to foster at least 50 unicorn companies.
The Seoul Startup Forest will provide startups with cutting-edge facilities, including a bio convergence center, an AI technology center, startup towns for different industries, makerspaces, and a global business center. It will serve as a comprehensive support platform offering investment, technology development, commercialization, and global expansion assistance.
Global Expansion Programs
Seoul has increased its “overseas expansion support countries” from 14 to 16 nations, including the U.S. (Silicon Valley), Germany, and others. The goal is to aid around 400 companies in their global endeavors through tailored programs offered by various startup support facilities like Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok, Seoul Bio Hub, Seoul Fintech Lab, and Seoul AI Hub.
Startups selected for the global expansion programs will receive comprehensive support, including pre-acceleration education, meetings with overseas investors, product/service pilots in local markets, legal/tax consulting for establishing overseas entities, and localization of offerings.
Seoul is also expanding its “Overseas Startup Landing Pad” initiative from 5 locations in 4 countries to 12 locations across 7 countries, providing on-site support and resources to help startups gain a foothold in their target markets.
The city’s specialized support facilities are implementing customized growth acceleration programs. For instance, Seoul Bio Hub assists bio startups, Seoul AI Hub expands opportunities for AI startups at major tech events, and Seoul Fintech Lab runs an accelerator program for fintech firms.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, the city plans to withdraw the Seoul Future Innovation Growth Fund gradually from this year through 2030. This strategic withdrawal process aims to sustainably allocate funds over the coming years, ensuring continued support for startups and innovative projects in Seoul.
“We plan to continue to strengthen investment in promising and excellent companies by mobilizing all of our fund-raising know-how and the various corporate and investor networking that Seoul City has,” said Lee Hae-woo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Economic Policy Department, “This year’s Seoul Vision 2030 fund creation direction focuses on promoting a rapid recovery of the venture investment market and intensively supporting future industries. We will operate the ‘Seoul Vision 2030 Fund’ to serve as a catalyst for the growth of future high-tech industries and a financial resource for nurturing companies that are successful in the global market.”
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