SMEs Ministry Invests ₩310B to Intensify AI Unicorn Development

## Ministry of SMEs and Startups Moves Beyond 'Scattershot' Approach to Focus on Fostering AI·Deep Tech Unicorns, Creating 570 Billion Won Venture Fund The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) is set to significantly expand venture investment through the Korea Venture Investment Fund (KVIC) to foster unicorn companies based on innovative technologies. In particular, shunning fragmented, 'scattershot' investments, the MSS plans to contribute a total of 310 billion won through the 'NEXT UNICORN Project', which provides large-scale focused support tailored to companies' growth stages, to create a venture fund of approximately 570 billion won. This investment project centers on the 'NEXT UNICORN Project', reflected in the second supplementary budget of 2025, with the goal of intensively cultivating companies in the AI and deep tech sectors, which are key to global technological hegemony competition. The project is largely divided into 'Startup' funds and 'Scale-up' funds. First, the 'Startup' fund will serve as a priming pump for the early growth of startups founded by AI and deep tech specialists, supporting initial investments to help innovative ideas establish themselves in the market. Next, the 'Scale-up' fund will make bold investments averaging over 10 billion won per company in AI and deep tech SMEs, providing them with a springboard to leapfrog into market-leading unicorn companies. In particular, companies in the 'NEXT UNICORN Pool' that have demonstrated excellent performance through MSS support programs and received recommendations from public institutions will be prioritized for support, maximizing the effect of policy assistance. Meanwhile, for early-stage startups that have recently faced difficulties in attracting investment, an additional 10 billion won will be contributed to the 'Early-stage Small' fund, bringing the total investment to 16.7 billion won. This is expected to be a crucial 'priming pump' investment, helping promising early-stage companies avoid losing their growth momentum due to funding difficulties. Kim Bong-deok, Director-General for Venture Policy at MSS, emphasized that in an intensifying global AI and deep tech competition, this 'NEXT UNICORN Project' will play a pivotal role in enabling domestic ventures and startups to become global unicorns, promising swift investment execution and future expansion of investments in the AI and deep tech sectors. This large-scale, focused investment by the MSS is expected to inject new vitality into the domestic venture ecosystem and serve as a decisive turning point for AI and deep tech-based innovative companies to grow into leaders in the global market.