The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 28th that venture investment in new industries in 2025 totaled 5.2 trillion won. That accounts for 76.4% of total venture investment (6.8 trillion won).
The average investment per new-industry corporations was 3.39 billion won, about 1.7 times that of non-new-industry sectors (1.91 billion won).
By sector, artificial intelligence (AI) was the largest at 1.3 trillion won. That is 19.6% of the total. It was followed by content (1.18 trillion won), healthcare (1.13 trillion won), and advanced manufacturing (970 billion won).
The growth rate was highest in biopharmaceuticals at 35.4%. Defense, aerospace, and maritime (19.2%) and mobility (16.5%) also increased. In contrast, energy, nuclear power, and fusion (-55.2%), advanced manufacturing (-22.0%), and semiconductors (-20.8%) decreased.
The investment structure centered on existing corporations. Of total investment, new investments were 639 billion won (12.3%) and follow-on investments were 4.5624 trillion won (87.7%), showing a clear tendency for investors to add funds to existing portfolios.
By years in business, investments in corporations with seven years or more accounted for more than half. The longer the track record, the larger the average investment amount.
Large investments also concentrated in new industries. Of the 158 corporations that attracted investments of 10 billion won or more, 131 (82.9%) were in new industries. All six corporations that attracted 50 billion won or more were new-industry corporations.
By region, concentration in the greater Seoul area continued. Investments in the capital region totaled 4.1 trillion won, accounting for 79.1% of the total. Non-capital regions came to 1.1 trillion won (20.9%). Seoul (2.6 trillion won) was the largest, followed by Daejeon (391.3 billion won) and South Gyeongsang (107.1 billion won) among non-capital regions.
In detail, within artificial intelligence, investments in AI infrastructure and foundation models accounted for 57% of the total. Investment in data analytics and computing rose 58.6% from a year earlier, and AI convergence services also grew 11.3% in the same period.
The content sector reached 1.18 trillion won, up 15.2% from a year earlier. Increased investment in games and broadcasting, film, and animation played a role. However, the Metaverse and sharing-economy platform segments continued to decline.
Healthcare totaled 1.13 trillion won, edging down from a year earlier. Still, Precision Medicine accounted for 53% of the total, maintaining the center. Some subsegments, such as gene therapy and regenerative medicine, showed sharp growth.
Investment in defense, aerospace, and maritime reached 238.3 billion won, up 19.2% from a year earlier. In particular, investment in drones more than doubled.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "The share of investment in new industries has stayed around 80% over the past five years," and added, "We will reflect investment trends in new industries in policy and support the growth of startups and venture corporations."