Qualcomm Ventures, the investment unit of U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, said Monday it has created a 57 billion won ($47.8 million) fund to nurture Korean start-ups in the fields of 5G, the Internet of Things, automobiles and other mobile services.
The new fund comes as part of the company’s total 100 billion won investment plan into the Korean start-up scene that was announced during CEO Paul Jacob’s Seoul visit in July last year.
Qualcomm Ventures vice president Quinn Li (right) and Company K chairman Kim Hak-beom pose at the inaugural event of their new start-up fund in Seoul on Monday. (Qualcomm Korea)
Company K Ventures, a local venture capitalist, will operate the fund together with Growth Ladder Fund, a fund raised by financial corporations under the Korean government’s start-ups support plan, the company said.
Qualcomm has expanded its investment into Korea, one of its key markets, especially into fostering the nation’s start-up and entrepreneurship culture.
Since 2010, more than 13 start-ups have received funding through Qualcomm Ventures. The latest is Viva Republica, which secured 6 billion won in funding in April. The mobile money transfer platform developer now boasts 2 million users for its Toss service.
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)