Hankook & Company Group announced on the 8th that it will establish a corporate-led venture capital (CVC) company called Hankook & Company Ventures.
The establishment of the CVC by Hankook & Company Group is the first time in its 84-year history, and it will operate as a subsidiary funded 100% by the holding company Hankook & Company.
Hankook & Company Ventures plans to start with a blind fund of several hundred billion won and will move forward with investments from the seed stage to Series A (early stage of business) and Series B (stage of full business development).
The investment areas include deep tech sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, mobility platforms, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and big data.
Hankook & Company Group envisions building an ecosystem where startups discovered through the CVC collaborate with core affiliates to accelerate the promotion of new businesses in advanced technology.
Hankook & Company has recruited Jeon Jin-won as the new CEO of Hankook & Company Ventures. Jeon has worked on deep tech-related investments at WeVentures after roles at Samsung Electronics and Samsung Venture Investment.
Hankook & Company plans to complete the corporate registration and financial authority registration application within this month and obtain the license for new technology finance companies by the end of this year.
Cho Hyun-bum, chairman of Hankook & Company Group, said, “I will support the ecosystem so that domestic corporations can thrive on the global competition stage, including future mobility, and design a virtuous cycle structure that contributes corporate profits back to society through job expansion.”