[Inside Major VCs]⑨From Early Discoveries to Group Infrastructure...KB Investment’s Deep Tech Scaling Up

AUM 3.2 Trillion Won, 45 Funds Under Management... 30% Overseas Investments
Outstanding in Deep Tech with Rebellions and RGnomics
Seven Investment Divisions, Separate and Independent Risk Review
"We Focus on Investing Properly, Not Just Inv

Editor's NoteA record-breaking amount of capital is now flowing into the venture investment market. As the government’s large-scale policy funds are being fully deployed, major venture capital firms are also rapidly scaling up. However, simply having more money and deploying it effectively are very different matters. This series will present an in-depth analysis of trends in the VC market and Korea’s leading VCs, across 11 installments. We have selected top houses based on assets under management (AUM), excluding those with a high proportion of private equity. After providing an overview of the market, we examine each company’s growth trajectory, flagship portfolios, investment philosophy and decision-making structures, key figures, and organizational culture.

In May 2026, KB Financial Group formed a strategic partnership with Rebellions, a Korean AI semiconductor company, to incorporate their homegrown AI semiconductors into the group’s AI infrastructure. The affiliate that first brought Rebellions into the group was KB Investment, a subsidiary with about 70 staff. KB Investment participated in the Series A funding round in 2022, and later, from Series B onwards, KB Securities joined in, providing funding through Series C and the pre-IPO stage. KB Investment thus set the foundation for a scaling-up structure where a venture investment is followed by additional investments from group affiliates and actual business collaboration.

The current assets under management (AUM) stand at approximately 3.236 trillion won. KB Investment operates 45 funds and has invested in more than 1,200 companies, with over 180 among them successfully achieving IPOs.

The Korean government has emphasized 'productive finance' by redirecting financial sector capital from real estate and collateral-based lending to innovative companies. As a result, the role of KB Investment, KB Financial Group’s venture capital arm, is growing ever more important. A company official stated, “As the entire financial sector shifts towards productive finance, we see KB Investment at the forefront of the group. Our role as a VC is to provide capital to companies that cannot access traditional deposits or loans, which are still in the pre-revenue stage and only have technology.”

A First-generation VC Founded in 1990... Now Managing 300 Billion Korean Won Funds

KB Investment is a first-generation Korean VC established in 1990. In 2008, it became a subsidiary of KB Financial Group, and the following year, it adopted its current name. KB Financial Group owns 100% of its shares.

Each fund under management is also substantial in size. According to venture investment electronic disclosure (DIVA), the KB Digital Platform Fund is 300 billion won. The KB Global Platform Fund No.2 is 250 billion won, and the KB Global Platform Fund is 220 billion won, with numerous other multihundred-billion-won funds being managed. In February of this year, KB Investment also established the 185 billion won KB Deep Tech Scale-Up Fund.

There is also the KB Founders Club 2022 Fund, which discovers early-stage companies, as well as secondary funds that purchase stakes from previous venture investors. The structure allows for investment at all stages of a company’s development—from initial discovery to growth stage investment, global expansion, and secondary deals.

More recently, KB Investment has managed the 100 billion won KB AX Digital Asset Fund, which is funded by KB Kookmin Bank, KB Securities, KB Insurance, KB Kookmin Card, and KB Life Insurance. This fund targets not only digital assets but also companies in AI models and application services, as well as data inference and analytics technologies.

Semiconductors, Biotech, Robotics... Focusing on Deep Tech Scale-Up

The central focus of KB Investment’s current investment strategy is deep tech scale-up. Key investment areas include system semiconductors, biotech and healthcare, future mobility, robotics, cybersecurity and networks, and aerospace. Special attention is paid to the scale-up stage, when companies with core technologies transition to commercialization and global expansion.

The investment organization is divided into seven departments. Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Kim Hyungjun oversees growth investments, while CIO Kuk Chanwoo leads deep tech investments. As of the end of June 2026, according to DIVA data, the company had 73 employees.

The investment decision process also includes checks and balances. KB Investment has a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) as a separate executive, and the risk review division is independent from the investment division. A company official explained, “The investment associate who identifies a deal does not solely determine its risk. Our review process requires independent evaluation separate from sourcing,” ensuring that decisions around high-risk investments do not rely solely on an individual’s judgment.

Exiting from Algenomics and Entering Boston... Overseas Investments Account for 30%

KB Investment’s results are especially notable in deep tech and biotech. Beyond its continued rounds of investment in Rebellions since Series A in 2022, the company also led the pre-IPO investment round in Algenomics. After Algenomics was listed on KOSDAQ, KB Investment reportedly sold all its shares, achieving a return of more than 15 times its original investment.

Orym Therapeutics is another representative biotech portfolio company that has received multiple rounds of follow-on investments over an extended period. Rather than providing a single round of funding, KB Investment continued to invest in new drug development firms according to their growth stage, despite the long time required for technology development.

The portfolio also includes AI companies like Nota AI, Select Star, and Diquest, as well as fashion platform Musinsa, K-beauty firm Vinau, and MediQuarters, which operates in both fashion and beauty. Although the current emphasis is on deep tech, the company aims to be a generalist house covering multiple industries, rather than a VC specialized only in one sector.

Overseas investment is also a key component. KB Investment employs both direct investments in Boston and local fund investments to expand its global investment network, with overseas assets accounting for approximately 30% of the company’s total portfolio. In September 2023, KB Investment established a branch in Boston to directly discover local biotech startups. A representative example, Odyssey Therapeutics, went public on NASDAQ after receiving investment from KB Investment.

Challenges for a House with 3 Trillion Won in AUM: "Not Just Quantity, But Quality"

Since April last year, CEO Yoon Beomryeol has led the company, with CIOs Kim Hyungjun and Kuk Chanwoo managing growth and deep tech investments respectively, while a separate CRO organization strengthens both investment expansion and risk management systems.

The expansion of productive finance is both an opportunity and a test for KB Investment. As the group and government policy funds increase their supply of venture capital, KB Investment must deploy more capital at a faster pace. However, for fields like semiconductors, biotech, robotics, and aerospace, where technology verification takes time, maintaining high-quality investment evaluation is critical. Now operating as a 3 trillion won asset house with 45 funds, KB Investment must enhance both the scale of investments and the screening system.

Rather than focusing on how much capital is deployed, KB Investment prioritizes the quality of execution. A company official said, “You must invest with timing and validated decision-making wherever it’s truly needed for the funds to actually grow industries. Otherwise, it only adds to supply performance records.”

They added, “The challenge is to increase both the speed and scale of deployment while preserving the quality of case-by-case evaluations. The goal is to become a house that does productive finance right, not just one that does a lot of it.”

<To be continued in the series>

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