Coupang is joining hands with the government to identify next-generation artificial intelligence (AI)-based growth corporations. The idea is to create a "second Coupang."
Coupang said on the 11th that it will invest 75 billion won in the Alpha Korea Sovereign AI Fund (scale-up AI convergence sector) under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' Next Unicorn Project to foster AI unicorn corporations.
The fund will be managed by venture capital firm SBVA, with Coupang and the Mother Fund each investing 75 billion won to create a total fund of 150 billion won. Through this, it plans to inject an average of more than 10 billion won each into 14 startups and growth corporations based on AI technology.
Beyond simple funding, Coupang plans to serve as a bridge by sharing its AI capabilities and logistics innovation experience and helping with global expansion.
Coupang, which became Korea's first unicorn corporation to list on the New York Stock Exchange, was named to LexisNexis' World's 100 Most Innovative Companies, announced early this year alongside Meta and Alphabet. As of the end of last year, it held 2,100 patents, a 13-fold increase from 2019 (160).
Park Dae-jun, Coupang's chief executive officer, said, "This investment reflects our determination, as Korea's first unicorn corporation, to cultivate a second Coupang in line with the government's policy of making AI one of the three strongest sectors," adding, "Based on the AI logistics innovation know-how accumulated over the years, we will spare no investment support so that AI startups and growth corporations can grow into unicorns."