Lee Calls Korea, US “Innovation Partners” for Next 30 Years
President Lee Jae-myung attended the “Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup” on the 25th and called on leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms to invest in Korean ventures and startups. In his opening remarks, Lee pledged, “The Korean government will create the best environment in the world for investment and for starting businesses.” He added, “We will boldly reform the visa system that blocks the inflow of overseas startup talent, and we will expand the cooperative foundation that connects domestic and foreign companies, research institutions and investment organizations.”
Lee also said, “By organically linking the fund of funds, the National Growth Fund, pension funds and private capital, we will support promising startups so that they do not remain at the startup stage but grow into global companies.” He stressed, “When Korea’s promising startups meet your global investment capabilities, investors will gain new growth opportunities. This is the most successful innovation model in which investors and companies grow together.”
The Silicon Valley VCs that attended the meetup were six firms: Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates. Andreessen Horowitz, founded in 2009, has assets under management (AUM) of $100 billion (146 trillion won), with OpenAI and GitHub among its representative investments. Sequoia Capital, founded in 1972, has AUM of $60 billion and has the proven strength of investing in Apple, Google and Airbnb and nurturing them into global big tech companies. It is literally referred to as the “Midas touch” that creates “unicorns.”
Lee declared, “The Korean government will create the best environment in the world for investment and for starting businesses,” adding, “We will boldly reform the visa system that blocks the inflow of overseas startup talent.”
In response to Lee’s investment request, Andreessen Horowitz partner Martin Casado said, “Korea is a strategically and technologically important country,” and assessed that it “occupies a unique position in the AI field.” He responded, “If US software and AI are combined with Korea’s hardware and manufacturing capabilities, it could greatly benefit both Korea and the US.”
General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja said, “We will develop more plans in Korea,” and Sequoia Capital co-managing partner Alfred Lin signaled additional investment, saying, “We will continue to increase investment in Korea going forward.” Khosla Ventures founder and partner Vinod Khosla also expressed anticipation, saying, “In the robotics field, there are secret projects underway that cannot yet be announced.”
New Enterprise Associates co-managing partner Tony Florence, referring to “AI for everyone,” assessed, “Korea is playing an increasingly central role,” and added, “It will continue to raise its potential and play a pivotal role in AI.”
Lee reiterated, “When Korea’s startups meet US capital and markets, and when US investors and innovative companies connect with Korea’s technology, manufacturing and talent ecosystem, the two countries will become innovation partners who build the next 30 years together.” He stressed, “Korea and the US must broaden the horizon of cooperation, moving beyond a longstanding security alliance to become a technology alliance, an innovation alliance and a startup alliance.”
