Internet group Naver will invest an additional €100m ($118m) in K-Fund I, a technology fund managed by France-based venture capital firm Korelya Capital, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The commitment follows a $56m investment by Naver in September 2016, alongside an investment of the same size by Line, the South Korea-based corporate’s Japan-based messaging app spinout. Line said at the time it hopes to tap into the European startup ecosystem through K-Fund I.
Korelya Capital was founded, and is led by Fleur Pellerin, formerly the digital economy minister for the French government under President François Hollande from 2012 to 2016.
As part of her ministerial role, Pellerin was responsible for launching the French Tech initiative in 2013, which included the creation of a €215m investment fund.
Korelya’s investments include software testing technology provider Tasty, machine learning technology developer Snips, and funds raised by venture capital firms Daphni and Atomico.
Founded in 1999, Naver operates a search engine and services portal in South Korea, and oversees subsidiaries including an online gaming business, a microblogging platform, an internet services provider and a messaging app.