[Edaily Marketin Song Seung-Hyeon Reporter] Since the start of the second half of the year, the Korea Post and the Korea Teachers’ Credit Union have successively announced plans to invest in venture capital funds. For the venture capital (VC) industry—which had been struggling with a dried-up funding pipeline throughout the first half of the year, relying solely on the National Growth Fund—this news offers a much-needed breath of fresh air. Since both investment initiatives have identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a core investment area, it is highly likely that venture capital funding in the second half of the year will also revolve around AI.

According to the VC industry on the 5th, the Korea Post announced the “2026 Korea Post Insurance Domestic VC Sub-Manager Selection Plan” on the 30th of last month and decided to invest up to 60 billion won in an AI venture fund. The selection will be conducted via a blind fund process, with approximately three asset managers to be chosen; only large firms with assets under management (AUM) of 300 billion won or more as of the end of last year are eligible to apply. The minimum fund size per manager is 150 billion won, and proposals from co-general partners (Co-GPs) will not be accepted.

The focus of the criteria is on the AI value chain. Selected fund managers must invest at least 200% of the Korea Post’s capital contribution in four areas: AI infrastructure, AI models, AI application services, and AI transformation (AIX). While fund managers are free to propose their own investment strategies, secondary investments—such as the acquisition of existing shares or equity-linked bonds—are excluded.

Instead, it was decided that if a proposed fund is linked to the National Growth Fund or the Master Fund’s investment initiatives and aligns with AI investment objectives, no separate primary investment requirements will be imposed. This is seen as an effort to attract large-scale AI funds by combining policy funds with Korea Post Insurance funds. Proposals will be accepted until the 13th of next month, and selected managers must establish the fund within six months of being notified.

The Teachers’ Mutual Aid Association’s investment program, announced earlier on the 7th of this month, is even larger in scale. A total of 100 billion won will be allocated to seven asset managers, divided into medium- and small-sized categories. For the medium-sized category, up to three managers will be selected and provided with up to 20 billion won per fund; these managers must establish venture funds worth up to 300 billion won. For the small-scale category, up to four firms will be selected, with up to 10 billion won per fund; the soft cap for these funds is 50 billion won, and the hard cap is 100 billion won.

The bar is not low. The Teachers’ Mutual Aid Association has not permitted co-GPs for this investment round and does not recognize past co-GP experience. Asset management firms currently managing existing funds backed by the Association must have a disbursement rate of at least 60% to be eligible; however, the path to application opens if they assemble a team consisting of core management personnel and additional staff. Combined with the fact that the Korea Housing Finance Corporation has restricted eligibility to firms with AUM of 300 billion won or more, this has led to speculation that investment funds in the second half of the year will be concentrated among large firms.

This capital-raising rally is particularly welcome because venture investment in the first half of the year was not as robust as the surface figures suggested. According to The VC, a venture capital analysis platform, cumulative venture investment in the first half of this year reached 7.8005 trillion won, already surpassing last year’s total. However, when mega-deals—such as Dunamu’s existing share acquisition (2.216 trillion won) and the National Growth Fund’s large-scale investment—are excluded, the momentum was concentrated in specific deals.

In contrast, early-stage investments fell by 16.9% year-over-year to 368 deals, with both the number of deals and their share of total investment shrinking. This suggests that while capital has been concentrated on big deals and later stages, early-stage startups and the small-to-medium-sized investment firms that support them have been relatively sidelined. This is why there are expectations that the recent capital injections from the National Pension Service (NPS) and the Teachers’ Mutual Aid Association will serve as a catalyst.

The business strategies proposed by Woobon and the Teachers’ Mutual Aid Association are essentially the same: they are targeting the AI value chain and seeking large firms capable of absorbing the capital. This aligns with the government’s trend of pouring over 5 trillion won into AI this year alone. However, since the eligibility criteria are tailored primarily for large firms, there is talk within the industry that the warmth of this investment rally is unlikely to reach small and medium-sized firms.

A venture capital (VC) executive predicted, “It’s a structure where ‘large anchor investments act as a catalyst, drawing private capital to follow,’ and ‘once fund formation gains momentum in the second half of the year, the warmth could spread to the early-stage investment market as well.’”