Tech news picked on 2026-04-10
Up to 60 Billion KRW Per Company: Conditions for Deep Tech Scale-up Funding
- The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Korea Venture Investment are promoting a next-generation unicorn fund that can invest up to 60 billion KRW in one AI or deep tech company.
- If a private VC first invests 20 billion KRW, the government and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund will add 40 billion KRW.
- This marks a shift from spreading investments thinly among many companies to concentrating funds on a few.
- Teams that lack the strength to attract private investment first may be pushed out of this market despite having good technology.
Collide Capital Raises $95 Million Fund
- Collide Capital, founded in 2021 by Brian Hollins and Aaron Samuels, former employees of Goldman Sachs and Lightspeed, has closed its second fund at $95 million.
- They invest $1 million to $3 million each in early-stage teams focused on fintech, the future of work, and supply chain technologies.
- What stands out is the support offered beyond money, such as a Fortune 500 corporate network and practical help like cloud credits.
- Early-stage B2B teams should ask whether the investor genuinely opens doors to their first major corporate customers rather than just relying on the investor's name.
TechCrunch Battlefield 200: Worth Over $100,000
- TechCrunch Startup Battlefield selects only 200 teams out of thousands of applications and opens pathways to meet investors like Khosla Ventures.
- The selection criteria prioritize a working MVP and the founder's unique story over flashy packaging.
- For Korean teams, a bigger challenge than English is translating domestic context into a form overseas judges can understand.
- Show a functioning product and initial reactions first, then briefly explain why this team.