Global Brain Corporation announced that it has increased members of its Seoul Office, and strengthened its commitment to invest in Korean startups through “KDDI Open Innovation Fund”, its corporate venture capital fund with KDDI, the second largest mobile carrier in Japan.
In 2015, Global Brain Corporation launched a Seoul office in Campus Seoul, the first Google Campus in Asia, and has invested 10 startups with a track record of successful 2 exits.
In Korea, we’ve seen a rise of superior startups backed by environments of existences of KAIST, Seoul University, and other top tier universities in Asia, more rapid penetrations of smartphones than in Japan, and expansions of Kakao Talk, LINE, and other unique communications services.
Also, Korean government’s strong commitment to facilitate entrepreneurships has stimulated investments in startups, and investment amounts in Korean startups in 2015 recorded over 2 billion US dollars, which was larger than Japan.
Based on these facts, Global Brain assigned Nobutake Suzuki, a partner in charge of overseas investment, to be transferred to Seoul Office, and Jung-Yong Kim, a former entrepreneur with experiences of business development in both Korea and Japan, to be a dedicated venture partner for KDDI Open Innovation Fund in Seoul Office.
In concert with Global Brain’s action, KDDI also transferred a dedicated person to Seoul to enhance investments in and partnerships with Korean startups through KDDI Open Innovation Fund.
KDDI Open Innovation Fund has focused on investments in AR/VR/MR, AI/Deep Learning/Big Data, IoT, Healthcare, and other mobile/Internet related startups in Korea.
■About Global Brain Corporation Global Brain Corporation is an independent venture capital based in Asia and Silicon Valley. Since its foundation in 1998, Global Brain has been focusing on seed to middle stage IT startup companies. It currently manages 5 funds with total amount of JPY 30.5B (=USD 242M). It is well known for its intensive hands-on style investments with dedicated in-house business support team, who provide growth hack assistances by leveraging their live business experiences and extensive network with large corporations. Global Brain has its headquarters in Tokyo and has branch offices in San Francisco, Korea and Singapore.
Regarding investments in Korea, please contact to Nobutake Suzuki u><em>suzuki@globalbrains.com</em, or Jung-Yong Kim u><em>jykim@globalbrains.com</em
For more information, please visit : http://globalbrains.com/en/
■ About KDDI Open Innovation Fund KDDI Open Innovation Fund is a corporate venture fund operated by KDDI and Global Brain Corporation that invests in domestic and international promising venture companies. It strongly supports the growth of invested companies by linking them to KDDI’s vast company network, marketing skills,and services such as au Smart Pass. It also has a base in Seoul, Koran, and San Francisco, United states where considers investments in startup companies that have the latest technology and innovative business models. When invested companies consider expanding to Japan, it offers a wide range of support, including business development, marketing, and localization.