Stonebridge closes ₩325B AI fund, lifting AUM to ₩1.7T
What's the deal? Korean venture capital firm Stonebridge VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has closed a ₩325 billion AI-focused fund. The firm held its formation meeting on July 31, 2026, finalising the "Stonebridge AI Global Investment Fund."
How it's structured: For administrative convenience, the vehicle was formed in parallel as two funds — a first fund with ₩225.08 billion in commitments and a second with ₩99.92 billion. The close lifts Stonebridge's assets under management to roughly ₩1.7 trillion.
Who's backing it? The first fund drew commitments from the Korea Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Industrial Bank of KoreaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Korea Growth Investment, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea PostDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The second fund is backed by the National Pension Service and the Public Officials Benefit Association.
What's the endgame? The firm will deploy 60% of the capital across the AI value chain — infrastructure, models, applications, and AI transformation. The remaining 40% targets adjacent sectors plus bio and deeptech, where Stonebridge says it has existing strength.
Why now? The fund lands as the South Korean government plans to invest more than ₩5 trillion in AI in 2026 alone. Choi Dong-yeol, who leads the investment division, called the AI value chain "the most certain growth area."
Who's running it? Choi serves as lead fund manager, backed by executives Kim Byung-jin, Song Young-don, and Lee Jong-hyun. Choi has led investments and exits in Stonebridge deals including Livsmed, Nota, S2W, and Holiday Robotics.
The signal: With major Korean institutional investors piling into a single AI vehicle, the fund mirrors a state-backed push to build domestic AI champions. Chief executive officer You Seung-woon said the raise aims to "broaden a stable revenue base" while growing value for shareholders and limited partners alike.
Read more: Edaily
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