Investor Profile: LB Investment — Thesis, Cheque Size & How to Apply

LB Investment is one of South Korea's longest-running venture firms, and an unusual one for founders to approach: it is itself listed on KOSDAQ, so its funds, scale and performance are unusually visible. Founded in 1996 and based in Seoul, it invests across seed, early-stage, growth, buyout and mezzanine opportunities, with a strong bias towards technology.

Investment thesis

LB Investment backs private companies with high growth potential, preferring technology-led businesses that can scale in Korea and beyond. Its stated interests span information technology, artificial intelligence, platform and service businesses, application and system software, contents, semiconductors, network security, biotechnology and healthcare, renewable energy and entertainment. The newer AI strategy sharpens that thesis towards convergent AI: infrastructure-level AI across the value chain, not only consumer applications.

Sectors and stages

Stages run from seed and startups through early stage and growth capital to buyouts, expansion capital, turnaround and mezzanine, giving the firm a wider remit than a pure early-stage fund. Geographically it prefers investments in South Korea, the United States and China. Sector fit alone rarely disqualifies a pitch; stage, technology depth and exit plausibility matter more.

Fund size and cheque size

LB Investment was reported to manage approximately KRW 1.3 trillion (about $980 million) in assets under management, expected to pass KRW 1.5 trillion once its new AI fund completed. Two large funds named in reporting are the LB Next Unicorn Fund at KRW 310.6 billion and the LB Promising Venture Industry Fund at KRW 145.6 billion.

Notable portfolio

A well-documented example is Elice Group, in which LB Investment invested KRW 2.5 billion at Series B in the second half of 2020 through the LB Technology Finance Fund No. 1, a KRW 54 billion vehicle that had already returned more than its committed capital. That deal illustrates the firm's patience: it retained the stake without follow-on investment while awaiting a listing outcome.

Partners and people

LB Investment is led by chief executive Kiho Park, also reported as Park Ki-ho, named as lead fund manager for the new AI fund. The firm's institutional backing is a defining feature: the Korea Development Bank committed KRW 60 billion as anchor investor in the AI fund through its AI Korea Fund initiative, with Korea Post and the National Pension Service also reported as limited partners, the latter expected to commit KRW 30 billion to KRW 60 billion.

Programmes, credits and perks

LB Investment does not publish a founder programme, accelerator or credits catalogue in the sources reviewed, and no such perks should be assumed. Its support is institutional: access to a large domestic limited-partner network, follow-on capacity across multiple funds, and the credibility of a listed manager with a long operating history.

How to apply for funding

No public application portal for LB Investment was identified in the sources reviewed. The real route is a direct approach through the firm's official channels, ideally with a warm introduction from a Korean venture ecosystem contact, a co-investor or a portfolio founder.