Smilegate Investment held a general meeting for the formation of ‘Smilegate XR Content Fund No. 2’ and announced that it would expand investment in virtual convergence technology and ad tech related to the metaverse industry.
The total investment amount was 47 billion won, and anchor investor Fund of Funds, Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation, LG U+, Realize Pictures, and parent company Smilegate Holdings participated in the investment. The investors’ strategy is to foster relevant promising startups and create synergy with the business being promoted as new digital industries are growing rapidly, centering on the Metaverse platform.
A Kobaco official said, “As a public enterprise representing the advertising media industry, we plan to actively foster ad tech and strengthen win-win cooperation in the field of high-quality advertising marketing services for small and medium-sized businesses and small business owners in the future.” Smilegate explains that LG U+, which is expanding its XR content and metaverse business, and Realize Pictures, the production company of the movie ‘Along with the Gods’, are also looking forward to collaboration with promising ventures with related technology and IP.
Smilegate, which invested in the ‘Smilegate XR Content Fund No. 1’ formed at the end of 2019, is expanding from the game to the media industry by producing dramas and movies based on its representative Crossfire IP. The plan is to continue innovation through partnerships with investment companies, as in the case of the AI-based virtual idol ‘Han Yu-ah’ recently unveiled with Giant Step, the main portfolio company of the first fund.
Director Lee Jae-hyuk, who served as the representative fund manager, said, “We were able to quickly form the second fund based on our experience in investing and operating the first fund, which almost completely exhausted its funds less than two years after its formation.” He added, “We were able to quickly form the second fund.” “To support sustainable growth, we will review follow-up investments, discover companies desired by the digital native generation, and foster a technology service ecosystem in the virtual convergence and ad tech fields with investors.”
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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