US-based 500 Startups unveils $15m South Korea fund

The $15 million fund - which filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday - will target early stage startups in South Korea's mobile space.

Former 500 Startup entrepreneur in residence Tim Chae will take the helm as the fund's investing partners. To coincide with the launch, 500 Startups said is also plans to open its first Seoul office.

500 Startups previous Korean investments include video ad maker Shakr, couple's messaging app Between, Tapastic, media localisation community Viki, CREAM, ShareON, and Plugger.

"500 will look to invest in not just companies that can succeed in the local Asian market, but through its accelerator, find and work with Korean companies that can succeed in the US and global market," said the company in a statement.

The fund joins a growing family of of micro-funds the 500 Startups has set up globally - others include Southeast Asia-focused vehicle 500 Durians, Thailand's 500 Tuk Tuks, India's 500 StartupWallah, and Mexico's 500 Luchadores. The best start-ups backed by these funds typically see follow-on investment from 500 Start-ups master fund in the US.

500 Startups currently has around $125million under management, with around 75% deployed in the US, and half of that in Silicon Valley. Its more than 100 portfolio companies based outside the US are spread across 30 different countries. The firm's 2010 vintage debut fund raised $30 million. Its successor launched in April 2013 and attracted $50 million.

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• Topics
• Early-stage
• North Asia
• Fundraising
• Technology
• South Korea
• seed
• Fundraising
• TMT
• 500 Startups