LG and Hana Financial are anchoring the venture capital firm’s sophomore vehicle as it gets set to deploy capital across Asia and North America.

Electronics manufacturer LG Corporation and financial services firm Hana Financial co-led commitments for US-based venture capital firm Primer Sazze Partners’ $127m second fund, TechCrunch has reported. The vehicle’s other limited partners include tech entrepreneurs Tim Hwang, Saeju Jeong, John Kim, Bong-Jin Kim and Chang Kim. It will invest in startups formed by Korean entrepreneurs in North America and Asia at seed and series A stage, with initial ticket sizes between $500,000 and $3m. Companies focused on artificial intelligence, food technology, healthcare and consumer and cultural offerings will be targets for investment. Primer Sazze also has a keen eye on companies that invest in Korean cultural products related to K-pop bands, films or drama. The firm’s portfolio includes Bobidi, the creator of an artificial intelligence model validation platform, as well as voiceover creation technology developer Lovo, gamer-focused dating app Kippo, telemedicine platform developer DoctorNow and YesPlz, the creator of a visual e-commerce search tool. Primer Sazze launched its first fund with $42.9m in 2018 and now has about $170m in assets under management, founding partner Kiha Lee told TechCrunch.

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Fernando Moncada Rivera

Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.