South Korean energy conglomerate establishes $84 million fund to promote metaverse adoption

Daesung Group of South Korea has entered the metaverse with the launch of a $84-million fund for firms operating in the ecosystem.

According to local news outlet Newsis, the fund is the largest metaverse grant in South Korean history and will be managed by Daesung Venture Investment Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Daesung Group. The Daesung Metaverse Scale-up Fund, according to the private equity firm, will focus on distributed ledger technology (DLT), artificial intelligence (AI), and extended reality (XR).

Korea Venture Investment Corp contributed $46 million to the fund, while the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Shinhan Capital Co. Ltd, and other Daesung Group subsidiaries also invested. Through strategic investments in the ecosystem, the energy conglomerate appears to be pivoting from the oil and gas sector to Web3.

Daesung Private Equity has invested in Upbit’s parent company Dunamu as well as KRAFTON, the creators of PUBG: Battlegrounds. The firm has also invested in Lidi, Riiid, Innosimulation, and Shiftup, all of which experts believe are on the verge of becoming unicorns.

“We intend to actively support the growth of representative metaverse companies that will lead the global market, from early-stage metaverse companies to companies in the scale-up stage, such as investing in M&As promoted by venture companies in this field for the purpose of expanding their business areas or scale,” the fund managers stated.

“Rather than being a new industry field, the metaverse will become a game-changer that will lead the future of our industry and the global economy,” said Daesung Group Chairman Younghoon David Kim.

The launch of the metaverse fund brings the VC firm’s total number of funds managed to 16. The firm’s total assets under management currently exceed $311 billion.

South Korea is paving the way for metaverse development.

South Korea has put a significant distance between itself and the other countries vying for first place in metaverse development. President Yoon Suk-pro-digital yeol’s asset regime has issued several regulations to help the industry grow, the most recent of which is the launch of a national metaverse strategy.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of the country also revealed ethical principles to guide the industry’s growth while preventing misuse by bad actors. The non-binding framework requires metaverse service providers to adhere to the principles of authenticity, inclusiveness, privacy respect, and fairness.

The ministry announced a $172 million fund in February to grow the local virtual world ecosystem while aiming to become the leading region in metaverse adoption.