Korea Tech Daily — 2026-09-02

Top Story

KOFIA Commits $720M to Korea Venture Secondary Market; Valuation Gap Blocks Deal Flow

The Financial Supervisory Service’s affiliate, the Korea Federation of Investment Associations (KOFIA), along with fifteen domestic brokerages, announced a coordinated effort to purchase existing startup fund stakes over the next three years. This $720 million commitment aims to create liquidity in the venture capital secondary market, addressing the "valuation gap" that has blocked deal flow since the 2021-2022 peak. While this is the largest coordinated institutional effort of its kind, analysts warn that it may not fully resolve the pricing discrepancies between early-stage valuations and current market realities.

Samsung · SK Hynix · LG

Samsung Plans Up to $80 Billion in Shareholder Returns Samsung Electronics announced plans for shareholder returns totaling 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won ($65–$80 billion), including about 30 trillion won in third-quarter cash dividends. This move follows recent buyback announcements by SK Hynix and reflects confidence in the AI chip boom's profitability.

SK Hynix and Samsung’s $720 Billion AI Buildout Recent reports highlight SK Hynix’s massive $720 billion investment into memory factories to meet surging AI demand, with an exclusive look at the facilities taking over parts of South Korea. This buildout is critical for maintaining leadership in High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) as NVIDIA ramps up supply for its Vera Rubin platform.

Chip Facility Investment Up 35% in H1 2026 Data from TrendForce indicates that Samsung and SK hynix increased their chip facility investments by 35% in the first half of 2026. Notably, NVIDIA was absent from Samsung’s top five customer list in H1 2026, with Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Hong Kong Techtronics, and Supreme Electronics taking the top spots.

Naver · Kakao · LINE

Naver Bets on AI Infrastructure, Kakao on Services A strategic divergence is emerging between Korea’s two internet giants: Naver is concentrating on AI infrastructure through its "AI Factory" initiative in partnership with Nvidia and Brookfield. In contrast, Kakao is opting out of the large-scale infrastructure race to focus on popularizing AI services and agents for consumers.

Agentic AI Era Accelerates for 2026 Launches Both Naver and Kakao are accelerating their push toward agentic AI, aiming to redefine their flagship search and messaging services. Naver is preparing a new "AI Tab" for its homepage and app in the first half of 2026, which will house agents for travel and financial services.

Startups & Investment

Record H1 Venture Investments Reach $6.34 Billion South Korea’s venture investment hit a record high of 8.87 trillion won ($6.34 billion) in the first half of 2026. This surge was fueled by major funding rounds for AI, semiconductor, and robotics startups, marking a significant recovery in the startup ecosystem.

Tech Funding Nearly Triples, But Mega-Rounds Mask Uneven Recovery While overall tech funding nearly tripled year-on-year in H1 2026, the growth was driven by a handful of mega-rounds in AI and semiconductors. Analysts note that this masks an uneven recovery for smaller early-stage startups outside of these hot sectors.

Policy & Industry

Global Physical AI Funding Surges to $47.4 Billion Global venture funding in physical AI (robotics, aerospace) reached $47.4 billion across 521 deals in H1 2026, up almost 4x from the second half of 2025. Korean startups are increasingly positioned in this sector, leveraging the country’s strong hardware manufacturing base.

What to Watch

• Secondary Market Liquidity: Monitor how quickly the KOFIA-led $720 million fund can deploy capital into the venture secondary market and whether it successfully bridges the valuation gap for LPs seeking exits.
• HBM Supply Chains: Keep an eye on SK Hynix’s production ramp-up for HBM4 as NVIDIA’s next-gen platforms enter mass production, which will test the limits of the $720 billion buildout.
• Agentic AI Rollouts: Watch for the official launch of Naver’s "AI Tab" and Kakao’s consumer-facing agents in early 2026, which will determine if Korean platforms can compete with global giants like OpenAI and Google in the agent space.