SoftBank Ventures Asia, a South Korea-based corporate venturing subsidiary of Japan-listed telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, has hired Tony Young-Suc Lyu as a venture partner.
Lyu co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Korbit in 2013 as its chief executive. The company received backing from SoftBank Ventures Asia’s predecessor, SoftBank Ventures Korea, in a $3m series A round in 2014, and was eventually acquired by video game publisher Nexon in 2017.
SoftBank Ventures Asia runs 17 funds with $1bn of assets under management and has more than 250 portfolio companies. It concentrates on early to growth-stage artificial intelligence, internet-of-things and robotics deals in regions including China, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States and the European Union.
SoftBank Ventures Asia said in a statement on LinkedIn: “We are fortunate to welcome Tony, one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in the industry, and a perfect complement to the team.
“Adding Tony to our team will continue to help us expand the work we do to build startups alongside our founders and understand more deeply about the founders and startup ecosystem.”
Photo of Tony Lyu courtesy of LinkedIn.
