Deep tech rises in Korea's venture market, while global ties remain weak

Korea's venture market is shifting toward deep-tech industries including artificial intelligence (AI) chips and robotics, but weak ties with global investors remain a drag on the country's startup ecosystem, a senior industry official said Monday. Lim Jung-wook, executive director of Startup Alliance Korea and a former deputy minister of SMEs and startups, made the remarks at SCG Investment's Global GP-LP Day in Seoul, which brought together seven U.S. general partners with about $14 billion in combined assets under management (AUM). "Korea has chip design, foundries, materials, equipment and customers all within one country," Lim said. "There are not many countries in the world that can do this." The startup sector is recovering from the downturn that followed the pandemic-era funding boom. Venture capital investment reached $6.6 billion in the first half of 2026, up 54 percent from a year earlier. Nine of the 10 standout deals this year involved companies in tech sectors, including Furiosa AI, Rebellions, Upstage and Exina. Despite Korea's strengths in technology and manufacturing, its