Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) corporations in the United States that manages about $100 billion (about 150 trillion won) in asset, has officially opened its Seoul office.
On the 15th, a16z said it established the Seoul office to support its portfolio corporations' entry into the Korean and Asian markets. It comes about six months after it released its plan to enter Asia in Dec. last year. Beyond simple investment, a16z supports portfolio corporations' market entry and growth based on a global network spanning various fields, including talent recruitment, business development, policy collaboration, media support, and partner community building.
a16z said, "We selected Korea as a strategic base in Asia, highly valuing the country's global competitiveness, excellent technical talent, and high market receptivity across diverse industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), manufacturing, defense industry, crypto, content, and consumer goods." The a16z Korea office will initially focus on the cryptocurrency (crypto) sector and then gradually expand its scope of activities.
a16z has the experience and capital to have identified and nurtured corporations that grew into global big tech, including SpaceX, Instagram, Facebook, and Airbnb, at an early stage. The company plans to contribute to the development of Korea's startup ecosystem and create cooperation opportunities between its portfolio corporations and Korean corporations.
Park Seong-mo, a16z Crypto Asia-Pacific GTM head, who was appointed along with a16z's announcement of its entry into the Asian market in Dec. last year, will operate out of the Seoul office as a base. Drawing on experience built at Naver and the Monad Foundation, Park will support a16z Crypto portfolio corporations' entry into the Korean and Asian markets.
Park Seong-mo, a16z Crypto Asia-Pacific GTM head, said, "a16z is focused on supporting the growth and market entry of portfolio corporations beyond simple investment," adding, "We will actively drive our portfolio corporations' entry into the Korean and Asian markets, based out of the Seoul office."