Crit Ventures Invests 32.6 Billion Won Last Year, Up 30% from Previous Year

by Hwang Seoyul

Published 28 Jan.2026 09:50(KST)

IT Platforms Account for the Largest Share at 34% of Total Investments by Sector

Venture capital firm Crit Ventures announced on January 28 that it made a total of 32.6 billion won (25 deals) in investments both domestically and internationally last year. This represents a 30% increase compared to the previous year.

Crit Ventures Invests 32.6 Billion Won Last Year, Up 30% from Previous Year

Crit Ventures invested 29.3 billion won through its Korea office and 3.3 billion won (approximately 2.26 million dollars) through its US branch. By sector, IT platforms accounted for the largest share at 34%, followed by content such as games, music, and media at 23%, artificial intelligence (AI) at 16%, commerce at 16%, bio at 7%, and blockchain at 4%.

In terms of the number of investments, there were 6 in content, 5 in AI, 5 in blockchain, 4 in IT platforms, 3 in commerce, and 2 in bio, bringing the cumulative number of portfolio companies to 137.

In the IT platform sector, which accounted for the largest share of investment, Crit Ventures made new investments in Onself World (advertising) and Artu (art curation), as well as in Danggeun Market through a separate project fund. In the content sector, investments were distributed across various segments, including Leegym International (music), Offbeat and PEP (games), and Clink (media).

Crit Ventures also began full-scale investments in deep tech sectors, building a portfolio that spans future industries, with companies such as FuriosaAI (AI semiconductor design), Neubility (autonomous driving), Withpoints (robotics), and AboveTech and DIT (AI content).

In the bio and commerce sectors, Petpharm (veterinary pharmaceuticals) and Mobicon Content Tech (music) were also major investment destinations. Additionally, Crit Ventures made follow-on investments in the telemedicine platform DoctorNow and the global entertainment company Leegym International.

The performance of portfolio companies was also notable. FuriosaAI achieved unicorn status with a corporate valuation of 1 trillion won. The O2O (online-to-offline) fitness platform Buffett Seoul secured an additional 10 billion won in funding. DoctorNow also secured investment and, with the institutionalization of telemedicine, achieved stable business operations.

Since surpassing 200 billion won in assets under management (AUM) in 2022, Crit Ventures has continued its growth, reaching 300 billion won in just three years. Last year, the firm established new funds totaling 41.8 billion won, including the IBK-Crit Global Content Investment Partnership and the Crit Global Scaling Up Investment Partnership, and is currently managing a total of eight funds domestically and internationally.

This year, Crit Ventures plans to target the North American market to proactively respond to trends in K-culture, such as fashion, beauty, food, and medical, as well as technological paradigms like physical AI and robotics. After establishing a Palo Alto branch in Silicon Valley last year, the firm has expanded its local workforce.

Jaejoon Song, CEO of Crit Ventures, stated, "We have not forgotten our founding mindset of walking uncharted paths together with startup teams. We want to write a new chapter in the history of K-startups by pioneering the global market alongside founders who use technology and culture as their weapons."