National Pension Service (NPS) signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with six major Silicon Valley venture capital firms on May 25 (local time) in San Francisco, including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. The agreement aims to establish long-term cooperation channels for discovering global venture investment opportunities and facilitating market information exchange. The combined assets under management (AUM) of the six venture capital firms total $313 billion (approximately 450 trillion won) as of May 25.
Six Silicon Valley VCs Join MOU with Combined $313 Billion AUM
The six venture capital firms that signed MOUs with NPS are Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and New Enterprise Associates. The signing ceremony took place at the 'Silicon Valley Venture Investment Meetup' event held in San Francisco, with President Lee Jae-myung in attendance. NPS Chairman Kim Sung-joo and Tony Florence, co-representative of New Enterprise Associates, participated in a commemorative photo session following the MOU signing.
Sequoia Capital made early-stage investments in Apple, NVIDIA, and Google. Andreessen Horowitz invested in Instagram, Meta, and Anduril. Khosla Ventures made early investments in OpenAI. Andreessen Horowitz recently opened an office in Korea.
NPS Adopts Strategic Long-Term Approach to Venture Investment Expansion
NPS views venture investment expansion as a strategic task to be pursued from a long-term perspective rather than short-term fund execution. The organization plans to gradually expand investments while closely examining investment opportunities, market environments, and risk factors based on cooperative relationships with local venture capital firms.
NPS has been continuously expanding contact points with the local venture capital ecosystem centered on its San Francisco office. The government met with Big Tech companies locally on May 24 to promote investment in Korean startups and support their entry into the global stage. The MOU signing ceremony was arranged at the subsequent meeting with global venture investment firms on the following day.
Roundtable Discussion Explores Korea-US Venture Ecosystem Cooperation
Following the MOU signing, NPS jointly hosted a roundtable with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Participants exchanged broad opinions on global and Silicon Valley venture investment trends, comparisons of Korea-US venture investment environments, and measures to strengthen cooperation between the two countries' venture ecosystems.
NPS Chairman Kim Sung-joo stated, "We have continuously expanded contact points with the local venture capital ecosystem centered on our San Francisco office, and this MOU will serve as an opportunity to develop our network into a practical cooperative relationship." He added, "Going forward, NPS will do its best to diversify investments and improve returns by gradually expanding overseas venture investment opportunities under the principle of operating the people's precious assets in a long-term and stable manner."
FAQ
What did National Pension Service do on May 25 in San Francisco?
National Pension Service signed memorandums of understanding with six major Silicon Valley venture capital firms on May 25 (local time) in San Francisco. The six firms are Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and New Enterprise Associates, with combined assets under management totaling $313 billion.
Why did NPS sign MOUs with Silicon Valley venture capital firms?
NPS signed the MOUs to establish long-term cooperation channels, discover global venture investment opportunities, and facilitate market information exchange. NPS views venture investment expansion as a strategic task to be pursued from a long-term perspective and plans to gradually expand investments based on cooperative relationships with local venture capital firms.
