Dong-Su Kim, CEO of LG Technology Ventures, is one of the leading corporate venturing professionals in our 2024 Powerlist.
Dong-Su Kim helped set up corporate venture capital fund LG Technology Ventures for South Korea-based electronics, chemical and telecoms conglomerate LG Group in 2018.
The unit oversees investments for LG Group affiliates which originally included LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Chem, LG Uplus and LG CNS. Over the years, LG Energy Solutions and LG Innotek joined and the operational fund now stands at $780m.
The unit identifies and invests in strategically relevant startups, especially those with technologies in AI and energy transition, including ESS, EV charging and infrastructure.
Around half of the fund’s recent investments have been in the AI, biotech, batteries and mobility sectors. Among these are Anthropic, a Silicon Valley-based large language module company founded in 2021. Also included is Figure.ai, a startup developing a humanoid robot, called Figure 01. The unit invested $600m in its series B round as part of a syndicate.
In addition to raising additional funds, exits are expected from marquee deals including: Moloco, which uses AI machine learning and big data technology to enable companies to feature customised ads on mobile devices; Arcellx, a cell therapy biotech startup in which LG invested in 2021; and May Mobility, an autonomous transportation-as-a-service provider that aims to transform cities through autonomous technology to create a more accessible world.
Before joining LG, Kim was US-based vice president and general manager for South Korea-listed electronics conglomerate Samsung’s corporate venturing arm, Samsung Ventures America. He led deals for Samsung in more than 20 companies, including data storage technology developer Pure Storage and memory-based IT infrastructure equipment manufacturer Netlist, which were floated on the New York and Nasdaq stock exchanges respectively.
The Global Corporate Venturing Powerlist represents the 100
individuals spearheading the future of the corporate venturing industry.
These individuals excel in terms of their venturing approach and structure, number and quality of portfolio companies and in their contributions to the corporate venturing profession.
