This article was published on ChosunBiz's MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:09 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2025.
1686 Partners, a global investment firm founded by the family that co-owns luxury brand Chanel, received an investment from Korea's Korea Venture Fund (Korea's mother fund). 1686 Partners is a venture capital (VC) and private equity (PEF) firm founded by David Wertheimer, son of Chanel's largest shareholder Gérard Wertheimer, and industry observers say the fund's formation is expected to lead to active investment in Korea's culture and content corporations.
On the 4th, venture investment industry sources said that 1686 Partners and Shorooq Partners of the United Arab Emirates were selected as the delegated managers (GPs) for the global league fund investment project overseen by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). The minimum fund size to be raised is about 50 billion won. The fund must include overseas limited partners (LPs) whose committed amounts exceed the fund commitment amount supported by the MCST.
Managers selected for this investment project must invest in Korean corporations operating in the culture and content industries. Specifically, eligible targets are small and venture enterprises related to the cultural industry under the Framework Act on Promotion of Cultural Industries and small and venture enterprises related to the content industry under the Content Industry Promotion Act. Accordingly, 1686 Partners is known to be monitoring corporations related to film, music, games, publishing, animation and content intellectual property (IP).
An industry official said the ultimate purpose of the global fund is to help domestic corporations expand overseas and noted there is a high possibility of collaboration with overseas brands that are portfolio companies of 1686 Partners.
In 2023, 1686 Partners raised a $10 million first blind fund. Its main portfolio includes Fusalp, a French premium apparel brand; 1916 Company, a U.S. luxury watch trading platform; Syrup, an artificial intelligence (AI) commerce brand; MSCHF, a New York–based artist collective; SATISFY, a French sportswear brand; and EADEM, a beauty brand. The only Korean corporation included was The Black Label, founded by producer Teddy, formerly of YG Entertainment.
1686 Partners concentrates on global luxury and lifestyle brands in Europe and the United States. However, as K-pop Demon Hunters achieved worldwide success, the firm is seen as recognizing the global scalability of Korean corporations. The original soundtrack (OST) Golden for K-pop Demon Hunters, along with How It's Done, Soda Pop and Your Idol, were songs produced by The Black Label, 1686 Partners' first Korean investment.
Recently, 1686 Partners appointed an investment head who previously worked at Sequoia Capital's Shanghai office, the world's largest venture capital firm. Since it was selected as a manager in the domestic investment project, it appears likely the firm will establish a Korea office. The head of an overseas fund said that one of the important factors the mother fund considers when selecting global league managers is the Korea investment strategy, so establishing an office in Korea is essential, and because the fund's investment targets are Korean corporations, there will be resident staff.