Israel and South Korea Partner to Establish $80 Million DeepTech Fund

In a significant boost to bilateral ties, South Korea has selected OurCrowd, Israel’s most active venture investor, to co-manage an $80 million fund for DeepTech investments. Announced on Wednesday, the NH-OC Global Open Innovation fund will focus on investing in approximately 25-30 startups across key technology sectors, including semiconductors, robotics, automotive, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and digital health.

This initiative aims to create a synergistic relationship between Israeli innovation and South Korean industrial prowess. To date, $48 million has been secured by the Korean partners, NH Venture Investment and K-Growth. The Jerusalem-based OurCrowd is currently raising the remaining funds from its extensive network of over 240,000 registered investors worldwide.

“The establishment of the Israel-Korea bilateral fund with the backing of the South Korean government is wonderful news for Israeli high-tech,” said OurCrowd CEO Jon Medved. He emphasized South Korea’s strategic interest in leveraging Israeli innovation to establish leadership in future industries. The fund's investments will provide Israeli DeepTech companies with direct access to South Korean industrial giants, fostering global collaborations, particularly in the Asia-Pacific markets.

South Korean startups will benefit from exposure to Israel’s deep global connections with leading venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, and family offices, accelerating their access to foreign tech innovation ecosystems and essential capital.

K-Growth, an agency under the Korean Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy (MOTIE), has committed $32 million to the fund. As one of Korea’s largest financial agencies, K-Growth manages the government’s strategic investment funds and has made one of its largest international fund investments to date with this commitment. NH Venture Investment, the venture arm of NongHyup Financial Group, has contributed $16 million. NongHyup Financial Group is among the top five financial groups in South Korea, with assets exceeding $400 billion.

“K-Growth has established this fund to support the global expansion of Korean companies through open innovations with global high-tech enterprises such as innovative Israeli companies,” said NH Venture Investment CEO Kim Hyun Jin. He expressed high expectations for discovering Israeli innovation through OurCrowd’s extensive network, enabling collaboration with Korean high-tech startups to foster mutual growth.

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