April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s top portal operator Naver has joined hands with SoftBank Ventures Korea to establish a new 50 billion won ($42.75 million) investment fund to nurture promising startups in the media content business and boost its own competitiveness as a platform provider.

Naver said Monday that it will form the “SB Next Innovation Fund” in partnership with the venture capital arm of Japanese telecom giant SoftBank.

They will make early investments in firms that possess standout services or technologies linked to media content such as webtoons, videos and mobile games.

Naver will provide 40 billion won for the new fund while SoftBank Ventures Korea will pay 4.5 billion won and Korea Venture Investment Corp. 500 million won. The remaining 5 billion won will come from foreign investment institutions.

The fund’s operators are looking to invest in promising media content platform operators including those that host mobile live streaming services, media delivery services and video content.

They are also interested in startups that possess cutting-edge technologies that can be applied to the content business, including virtual reality, augmented reality, advertising, video and voice recognition.

Naver’s latest investment direction is aligned with broader moves by global online platform operators to secure direct capabilities in media content creation to gain a competitive edge over rivals, said SoftBank Ventures Korea executive Lee Joon-pyo.

The startups selected by Naver’s new fund are expected to synergize their businesses with the internet giant’s existing services -- such as digital comics hosting service Naver Webtoon, live video streaming service V Live and mobile video messaging app Snow.

“At this point, securing good content is the deal-breaker for platform operators in attracting new users. This is why platform companies are interested in existing media content creator sand studios,” said Lee, who will be leading the fund. He has worked for diverse content platforms and technology providers such as Gom TV and Enswers.

The chief of Naver’s webtoon services division Kim Jun-koo and Kim Chang-wook, CEO of Naver’s Snow will serve as the fund’s investment advisors.

Google recently acquired Famebeat, a US-based platform that connects influential content creators with corporate brands interested in advertising their products through them.

US telecom giant AT&T has closed in on an $85 billion acquisition of global media giant Time Warner, which owns television channels such as HBO and CNN as well as Hollywood’s largest TV and film studio Warner Bros.

This is not the first time for Naver to invest in a venture capital fund. Earlier this year, the Korean company invested 100 million euros ($108 million) in a French venture fund set up by France’s Korean-born former Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin to help Korean firms invest in French startups.

Meanwhile, Snow CEO Kim Chang-wook confirmed recent reports that the firm had refused acquisition offers from tech giants such as Facebook and Alibaba, pledging instead to tread forward on its own.

“Though it would be great to partner with such big companies, we are determined to successfully bring our service to global markets on our own. In doing so, we are currently moving quickly to expand our leadership in Asia,” Kim said.

By Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald (jys@heraldcorp.com)