Initial Capitalization of US$100 Million
Korea Development Bank (KDB) has set up a venture capital (VC) firm in Silicon Valley of the United States to invest in promising startups around the world. KDB has become the first Korean state-run bank to set up a VC firm overseas.
KDB announced on Nov. 16 (U.S. local time) that it has opened "KDB Silicon Valley" to invest directly in startups established by ethnic Korean founders and domestic startups that enter the United States. In addition, U.S. startups that enter Korea are also included in KDB’s investment target list.
KDB Silicon Valley will start with a total capital of US$100 million. Initially, it will invest only with its capital, but plans to expand its investment to hundreds of millions of dollars through financial leverage.
Accordingly, for the time being, KDB Silicon Valley will focus on startups in their early stages. Afterwards, it will make follow-up investments or invest in startups in their late stages jointly with its parent in Seoul. It will also make joint investments with large U.S. VC firms.