The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced trends in new venture investment and venture fund formation for the first quarter of 2025 on Tuesday, May 20. The key trends and implications are as follows.
* Aggregate performance of venture capital firms, partnerships, and new technology-based financial companies ("new technology finance companies") and their partnerships

1. New venture investment and venture fund formation increased by 34% and 21%, respectively
 
Venture investment in the first quarter of 2025 reached KRW 2.6 trillion, up 34.0% from the same period in 2024, while the scale of venture fund formation rose 20.6% to KRW 3.1 trillion. This marks the second-highest performance on record, following the boom year of 2022. After the venture investment market began to contract at the end of 2022, it showed a modest rebound in 2024 (new venture investment up 9.5% compared to 2023) and has continued its growth momentum into the first quarter of 2025.
 
< Recent First Quarter Venture Investment and Fund Formation Status (Unit: KRW 100 million) >

Classification	2021 (Q1)	2022 (Q1)	2023 (Q1)	2024 (Q1)	2025 (Q1)
						YoY (%)
New venture investment	24,710	39,189	17,800	19,573	26,225	+34.0%
Venture fund formation	27,765	43,113	16,647	25,496	30,741	+20.6%

 
2. Startups in the AI and bio sectors attract large-scale investments
 
Investment performance by business age shows that investment in early-stage companies within three years of founding increased significantly by 81.7% compared to the same period in 2024. By industry, investment in the “video, performance, and music” sector rose sharply, while the “chemicals and materials” sector saw a decrease compared to the same period in 2024. These statistics reflect only first-quarter investment performance, and due to the relatively small sample size, fluctuations may be significant depending on the scale and characteristics of individual investment cases. Continuous monitoring will be necessary to accurately track trends by business age and industry.

According to an analysis of investments by venture capital firms and partnerships, 10 out of 26 unlisted startups (38%) that attracted investments of over KRW 10 billion in the first quarter of 2025 were identified as startups based on artificial intelligence (AI) or bio technology. Wrtn Co., Ltd., which supports content creation using AI technology, attracted a total of KRW 83 billion in investment in the first quarter of 2025 alone and was selected in early May for MSS ‘Super Gap Startup 1,000+,’ signaling strong growth potential. CellArk Bio Co., Ltd., located in Wonju, Gangwon-do, also drew attention from the industry by securing KRW 17.1 billion in investment in the first quarter of 2025, demonstrating rapid growth since its founding in 2024.
 
3. Private sector venture fund commitments increased by 31%, accounting for over 80% of newly formed funds in the first quarter, leading the formation of new venture funds
 
In the first quarter of 2025, private sector commitments to venture funds amounted to KRW 2.6 trillion, a 31.1% increase compared to the same period in 2024. Private sector contributions accounted for 83.5% of venture fund formation in the first quarter, driving the growth in new fund formations. Notably, contributions from “pension funds and mutual-aid associations” and “financial institutions” rose by 47.8% and 41.4%, respectively, while “general corporations” also increased their commitments by 37.7%. This is a positive signal for the venture investment market, indicating that more private capital is contributing to the growth of startups and the overall ecosystem.

KWAK Jae-kyung, Director of Investment Supervision Division, stated, “It is encouraging to see that the scale of venture investment began to rebound from 2024 and that both investment and fund formation continued to grow in the first quarter of 2025.”

He added, “Going forward, we will steadily implement institutional improvements and master fund commitments to ensure that active investment in deep-tech startups continues and private sector venture fund commitments expand.”