▲ AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor’s Note: ‘AI PRISM’ (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an AI-based customized news recommfinishation and summarization service developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six tailored news stories for each reader type.
■ Defense Startups on the Rise: As the war between the United States and Iran continues, defense startups armed with AI, drone and robotics technologies are gaining increasing prominence. Global venture capital investment in defense technology surged more than 80% year-on-year to $49.1 billion last year, prompting the Korea Startup Forum to establish a new defense sector council.
■ AI Accelerating Investment Workflow Automation: Private equity fund (PEF) managers are ramping up operational efficiency by adopting AI across the entire investment process, from research to valuation. Blackstone, the world’s largest PEF, established a joint venture with Anthropic, while MBK Partners has built and deployed team-specific custom AI agents.
■ Bio Fund Globalization Gains Momentum: Global huge pharma companies have joined as investors in a bio fund organized by Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), expanding the fund to at least $220 million (approximately 300 billion won). The fund is expected to grow to $300 million (approximately 450 billion won) in the first half of this year and will focus on overseas clinical trial investments for Korean biotech companies.
[News of Interest to Startup Founders]
1. An Era Where Robots and Drones Beat Tanks — Defense Startups Gain Prominence
– Key Summary: As the war between the United States and Iran continues, defense startups with AI, drone and robotics technologies are gaining increasing prominence. The Korea Startup Forum is pursuing the establishment of a defense sector council and recruiting member companies. The startup pavilion at the International Defense Industest Exhibition in October this year expanded to 40 booths, more than doubling from 15 booths two years ago. Bluepoint Partners, a deep-tech accelerator, plans to host a seminar in partnership with EDTH (European Defence Tech Hub), a European defense platform, to directly connect startups with military officials. According to PitchBook, a global market research firm, global venture capital investment in defense technology reached $49.1 billion last year, surging more than 80% from $27.2 billion in the previous year.
2. Startup One-Stop Support Center Becomes a Go-To Problem Solver for Founders
– Key Summary: The Ministest of SMEs and Startups’ “Startup One-Stop Support Center,” which opened late last year, recorded a cumulative 7,495 consultations in approximately four months, establishing itself as core infrastructure in the startup ecosystem. The center handled an average of about 98 consultations per day. Prospective entrepreneurs and early-stage companies within three years of founding accounted for 88.2% of total utilizers. The most popular consultation category was “support programs” (64%, 4,979 cases), followed by “overseas expansion” (4.7%, 349 cases) and “fundraising” (3.5%, 260 cases). User satisfaction scored 9.7 out of 10. The ministest recently expanded beyond offline services to establish an online portal, enabling expert consultations without time or location constraints.
3. Near-Unicorn Mangoboos Takes on AIDC Infrastructure Business
– Key Summary: Mangoboos, a startup on the verge of achieving unicorn status, is building a full-scale entest into the AI data center (AIDC) infrastructure business, leveraging its data processing unit (DPU) technology. The company plans to install 10 units of 42U-standard racks equipped with AMD’s latest GPU MI355X at a data center in Gangnam, Seoul, and offer an integrated package combining its proprietary DPU “BoostX” with optimization software “LLM Boost.” Companies ranging from large corporations to startups are displaying interest in large language model (LLM) computational efficiency and are in discussions to utilize the servers. “Our goal is to establish a standard computer system that fundamentally transforms the efficiency of AI data centers,” Mangoboos CEO Kim Jang-woo declared, adding that the company plans to complete equipment installation by May and launch full-scale operations.
[Reference News for Startup Founders]
4. From Research to Valuation — PEFs Entrust AI with the Work
– Key Summary: Private equity fund managers are accelerating workflow automation by adopting AI across the entire process, from sourcing investment tarobtains to portfolio management. MBK Partners has built team-specific custom agents for initial research and investment due diligence. IMM Private Equity is also integrating its proprietary AI with internal databases to streamline management operations. In the global PEF industest, Anthropic and Blackstone have established a joint venture, and Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, has reportedly introduced AI to its investment committee. However, domestic PEF firms are grappling with optimizing their AI strategies, weighing information security concerns against cost efficiency when deciding whether to maintain custom agents.
5. Big Money Flows into Energy and Infrastructure — AI Reshapes the M&A Landscape
– Key Summary: Massive capital is converging on power, tech and infrastructure sectors essential for AI expansion, reinvigorating Korea’s M&A market. By deals completed in the first quarter, transaction volume stood at 114 deals worth 18.77 trillion won, roughly on par with the same period last year. However, deals in progress surged to 32 transactions worth 10.13 trillion won, up 68.42% and 113.73% year-on-year, respectively. Major energy and infrastructure deals included SK and KKR’s 5 trillion won renewable energy joint venture and Air Liquide’s acquisition of DIG Airgas for 4.85 trillion won. Analysts attribute this trfinish to the “K-curve phenomenon,” where investors selectively tarobtain industries that are either integral to the AI ecosystem or irreplaceable.
6. Global Big Pharma Joins KIC Bio Fund, Significantly Expanding Its Scale
– Key Summary: Global huge pharma companies have committed capital to a bio fund co-organized by Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and global PEF manager CBC Group, expanding commitments to at least $220 million (approximately 300 billion won). The industest expects the fund to grow to $300 million (approximately 450 billion won) within the first half of this year. The fund is expected to serve as a “strategic bridge,” going beyond simple capital supply to transfer global networks and clinical expertise to Korean companies. KIC established a strategic investment team in 2024 and expanded it into a strategic investment division this year, stepping up efforts to ease the overseas clinical trial cost burden for Korean biotech companies and strengthen their global competitiveness.
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