This article was published on May 9, 2025, at 3:29 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group are both increasing their venture funds. Samsung Electronics plans to create the second-largest venture investment fund in history through its corporate venture capital (VC) entity, Samsung Venture Investment, while Hyundai Motor is looking to increase the size of its venture investment fund by over 55%. Analysts suggest that this decision for venture investment comes amid a semiconductor crisis and increased uncertainty due to high tariffs.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 9th, Samsung Venture Investment is expected to establish a total of four funds worth 460 billion won with contributions from five Samsung affiliates. This is the second-largest scale on an annual basis. Previously, in 2021, Samsung Venture Investment formed six funds totaling 540 billion won. Since then, the investment scale has gradually decreased, reaching only 120 billion won for funds established in 2023. As it is still May, there is also a possibility that Samsung affiliates may provide additional contributions and increase the fund size this year.
The flagship fund, SVIC No. 67 New Technology Business Investment Association, is set to grow and will also establish new funds No. 69, 73, and 74. In particular, SVIC No. 67 saw Samsung Display triple its contribution in the fourth quarter of last year, increasing it to 190 billion won. This is the largest scale since 'SVIC No. 45 (200 billion won)' in 2019. The New Technology Business Investment Association is an association established to invest in new technology businesses and is a kind of venture investment fund.
In addition, Samsung Electronics will entrust 148.5 billion won to SVIC No. 74. Samsung Venture Investment will contribute an additional 15 billion won, forming a fund worth 150 billion won. Samsung C&T and Samsung E&A will each contribute 49.5 billion won, creating a 100 billion won SVIC No. 69. An additional 1 billion won in contributions from Samsung Venture Investment has been added. There is also a 20 billion won SVIC No. 73, combining 19.8 billion won from Samsung Heavy Industries and 2 billion won from Samsung Venture Investment. These three funds are scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Hyundai Motor Group is also establishing a new venture investment fund, HMG Zero One No. 3 New Technology Business Investment Association. Hyundai Motor Securities, which holds the qualification of a new technology financing company, will be the managing entity, while Hyundai and Kia will act as limited partners (LPs) and co-managers.
This fund is noteworthy for being of considerable size and for comprising only LPs from Hyundai Motor Group affiliates without external contributions. The previously established Zero One No. 1 and No. 2 funds were formed at 10 billion won and 80.5 billion won, respectively. This represents a 55.7% increase compared to the previous Zero One No. 2 fund formed in 2021. Additionally, while the second fund had limited partners including Donghee and KDB Industrial Bank, all of them are absent in this instance.
The background of Samsung and Hyundai's creation of large-scale funds lies in the aim of securing future food sources amidst increasing uncertainty. While it is important how much is recovered from startup investments, the key lies in cultivating technologies that can generate synergy with the groups, according to industry analysis. These new technology investment associations plan to proactively invest in and nurture innovative startups both domestically and internationally while identifying opportunities for new technology development and advancement of existing technologies.
An industry insider noted, "These large enterprises have consistently established venture investment funds, but this marks a significant large-scale investment occurring four years after the liquidity boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is interpreted that they are taking a long-term perspective to explore new growth drivers amidst economic uncertainty."