Hanwha Asset Management Successfully Hosts Deep Tech Seminar with VC and Startup Partners

First Official Event Since Launching Venture Investments in 2017

Hanwha Asset Management announced on the 22nd that it had hosted 'Hanwha VC Connect Vol.1' on the 21st. This event marked the company’s first official public statement since Hanwha Asset Management began its venture investment activities in 2017.

According to Hanwha Asset Management, key players from the venture ecosystem—including domestic and international investors, general partners (GPs), and startups—were invited to the event held at Dreamplus Gangnam in Seoul. At the event, Hanwha Asset Management presented the strategies and portfolio vision of its VC Investment Group.

In his opening remarks, Hanwha Asset Management Vice President Lim Dongjun stated, "In today’s global investment market, AI and defense are emerging as the pillars of a once-in-a-century transformation. Hanwha Asset Management has already been keenly observing and investing in this trend on the ground in Silicon Valley for several years, and I hope today’s event serves as a starting point for investors, GPs, and founders to discuss these changes and create opportunities together."

Prior to the main program, a networking reception and 1:1 meetings were held for major domestic and international venture capital (VC) and corporate venture capital (CVC) firms, investors, and portfolio companies.

The main event featured a portfolio company showcase and two panel talk sessions. The showcase included RLWRLD, Vessel AI, Zenzen AI, Superb AI, Cochl, Furiosa AI, and Primemas, each presenting their business visions and growth strategies.

The first panel talk, titled "Defense, Security, and AI Data: Three Reasons Why You Can’t Afford to Wait to Invest," brought together founders from defense-specialized startups such as ICEYE, Zenzen AI, and Keypair to discuss investment opportunities and market prospects in the defense and security startup sector.

The second session, under the theme "Global Survival Strategies for Korea’s Physical AI," featured founders from Furiosa AI, Superb AI, and Vessel AI, who shared strategies for Korean deep tech companies to compete globally.

During the event, congratulatory video messages were played from Impulse Space—a global portfolio company of Hanwha Asset Management’s VC Investment Group—and its partner Thrive Capital. Impulse Space is an orbital transportation specialist founded by Tom Mueller, co-founder of SpaceX. Thrive Capital operates Thrive Holdings, an AI roll-up platform that strategically incorporates artificial intelligence to acquire and manage traditional industry companies such as those in accounting and IT services.

Vice President Lim added, "Along with investments in domestic deep tech startups, Hanwha Asset Management has built a local network centered on Silicon Valley over many years, and has successfully invested in leading global deep tech companies such as Groq, Mistral AI, Shield AI, and Tempus AI. This event will serve as an official platform that connects these global investment achievements with the domestic deep tech ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.