Sungkwon Kang, investment director at LG Technology Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2026.

Sungkwon Kang’s impact at LG Technology Ventures is defined by breadth, resilience and timing. Over the past five years, he has been involved in more than 30 portfolio companies, spanning batteries, biotech/pharma and AI infrastructure. At a challenging moment for electric vehicles and battery storage, Kang has focused on supporting portfolio companies in that sector.

With a PhD in biomedical engineering, Kang began his career at LG Chem in South Korea before moving to Boston Consulting Group. This period coincided with an inflection point for AI, symbolised by the widely watched five-game Go match in Seoul between a Korean champion and Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo, which the human player ultimately lost.

“Kang focuses on technologies making AI mainstream and genuinely useful, including investments in AI semiconductors and data centres”

Kang recognised that Silicon Valley sat at the centre of what was unfolding in AI, as well as innovation often referred to as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. When offered a role with LG in Silicon Valley, he recalled a line from Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat – just get on.” He relocated from Seoul to Silicon Valley, joining LG Corp to focus on corporate development, business development and open innovation, before ultimately moving to the LG Technology Ventures team.

Today, Kang focuses on technologies making AI mainstream and genuinely useful, including investments in AI semiconductors and data centres. He often references a quote from a former manager: during the California Gold Rush, while many chased gold, the real winners were those who supplied the tools. For Kang, enabling technologies similarly represent key opportunities in today’s AI boom.

Founded in 2018, LG Technology Ventures manages approximately $880m across 14 funds for seven LPs within the LG Group. The firm is stage-agnostic, but most active at series A and B, with cheque sizes ranging from a few million dollars up to $10m per round. 

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The Emerging Leaders are mid-career corporate venture professionals who are making an outstanding contribution to their teams and the industry.

See the full list of Emerging Leaders here.