Colopl Next and DT&Investment (DT&I), respective corporate venturing subsidiaries of Japan-headquartered game publisher Colopl and South Korea-listed product testing service DT&C, have closed a joint fund at $55m, DealStreetAsia has reported.
Next Unicorn Fund’s limited partners include Colopl, Korean state-sponsored fund of funds Korea Venture Investment, metropolitan government-run Seoul Business Agency, financial services firm NH Bank and AI Industrial Convergence Complex, an innovation ecosystem builder backed by Gwangju City.
The vehicle had intended to target startups at pre-series A to series B stage in Southeast Asia but shifted its geographical focus to Korea since the emergence of covid-19 health crisis, DT&I fund manager Michael Son told DealStreetAsia. It will seek out technologies catering to millennials’ spending habits.
Next Unicorn Fund has already made four investments in Korea-based companies: mobile advertising technology developer Mobidays, apparel manufacturing management system Control Clother, artificial intelligence-equipped enterprise software provider ConnexioH and Quriously, the creator of a remote education service dubbed Air Class.
The fund has earmarked 20% of its capital for opportunities outside of Korea, and is looking to close two deals in Southeast Asia by the end of this year.
DT&I was initially looking to start a $40m fund dedicated to Vietnam’s technology ecosystem, Son told DealStreetAsia in 2019. He said earlier this year that fund would cover Southeast Asia in a wider sense, as Colopl Next was also keen on exploring the region.
Colopl Next and DT&I have already co-invested in two Vietnam-based companies earlier this year: mobile game developer Funtap and real estate services platform Propzy. Colopl Next’s portfolio also includes Thailand-headquartered ride hailing platform Drivemate.
