At the end of 2022, the venture investment market, which had contracted, began a slight rebound last year and has continued to grow in the first quarter of this year.
According to the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups on the 20th, the scale of venture investments in the first quarter of 2025 reached 2.6 trillion won, an increase of 34% compared to the same period last year. The scale of venture fund formations was 3.1 trillion won, an increase of 20.6%. This is the second highest performance on record, following the venture investment boom in 2022.
Investment performance by the age of invested companies showed that investments in early-stage companies within three years of establishment increased significantly by 81.7% compared to the same period last year. By sector, investment performance in 'video, performance, and records' saw a significant rise, while the 'chemicals and materials' sector experienced a decline compared to the previous year.
In particular, among the 26 unlisted startups that attracted investments of over 10 billion won, 10 companies (38%) were found to be based on AI or biotechnology. The company 'wrtn', which supports content production based on AI technology, attracted 83 billion won in investment in the first quarter alone. 'Cellark Bio', located in Wonju, Gangwon Province, also secured 17.1 billion won in the first quarter, demonstrating rapid growth since its establishment last year.
In the first quarter of this year, the private sector investment amount in venture fund formations was 2.6 trillion won, reflecting an increase of 31.1% compared to the same period last year. Private sector contributions accounted for 83.5% of the venture funds, leading the growth in the formation of new funds.
Notably, contributions from 'pension funds and associations' and 'financial institutions' increased by 47.8% and 41.4%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, while 'general corporations' also expanded their investments by 37.7%. This is seen as a positive signal for the venture investment market, indicating that more private capital is contributing to the growth and ecosystem of startups.
Kwak Jae-kyung, head of investment management supervision at the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups, noted, "The rebound in venture investment scale since last year and the continued increase in investment and funds in the first quarter of this year is positive." He added, "Going forward, we will ensure active investments in deep tech sector startups and expand private venture fund contributions through regulatory improvements and stable execution of the fund of funds investments."