[Edaily Marketin, Reporter Song Seung-Hyeon ] Venture capital (VC) firms have begun taking a direct role in talent recruitment for their portfolio companies. Some have partnered with universities to host job fairs that bring their portfolio companies together, while others have even established dedicated teams focused solely on recruitment. Since securing talent is increasingly critical to the success of startups in cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, VCs are expanding their roles beyond investment to include “talent support.”

According to the VC industry on the 7th, FuturePlay will host a job fair at Seoul National University on the 30th to support talent recruitment for its portfolio companies. This marks the first time a VC has partnered with a university to hold a job fair specifically for its portfolio companies.

The “2026 Seoul National University × FuturePlay Deep Tech Talent Recruitment Fair,” to be held in the Convention Hall on the 5th floor of the Global Engineering Education Center (Building 38) at Seoul National University, is open to Seoul National University undergraduates, graduate students, alumni, and MBA students.

Twelve companies will participate. The list includes artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor firms such as FuriosaAI, Mobilint, and Dinotisia, as well as robotics companies like WiRobotics, Lion Robotics, Cleo Robotics, and Robos. Asteromorp, Navipra, Nanopose AI, GiftShed, and Roai will also participate. Most of these are deep-tech companies in which FuturePlay has invested since their early stages.

On the day of the event, a company presentation session featuring FuturePlay and the participating companies will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., followed by a job fair on-site until 5:00 p.m. The event is structured so that the entire process—from application to interview—can be completed in a single day. JobTrend is responsible for operations and coordination.

While securing R&D talent is crucial for the progress of deep-tech startups, they often lag behind large corporations and research institutions in terms of brand recognition. It is understood that FuturePlay determined it would be more efficient to bring 12 investment firms together in one place to connect with the university—rather than having individual companies hold separate recruitment sessions—as a way to expand their reach.

This is not the first time FuturePlay has collaborated with Seoul National University. Last year, FuturePlay co-hosted the “SNU Big Scale-up” program with Seoul National University’s Startup Support Center, providing comprehensive support—from technology validation to securing investment—to startups founded by faculty, students, and alumni. Following the program, FuturePlay actually made investments in two companies: MetaFarmers, a developer of agricultural automation robots, and X-Centry. X-Centry was subsequently selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ “Deep Tech Tips” program, securing additional R&D funding. In essence, FuturePlay has been creating a pathway to connect university-based tech startups with investment opportunities, and this recruitment fair can be seen as an extension of that pathway toward talent acquisition.

FuturePlay is a deep-tech investment firm established in 2013. Starting as an accelerator, it expanded its scope to include the management of venture capital funds and has primarily invested in early-stage companies in cutting-edge fields such as system semiconductors, robotics, future mobility, and quantum technology. Its cumulative portfolio includes 300 companies and 573 investment deals. The 12 companies featured at this expo were also selected from this portfolio.

A trend of venture capital firms taking an active role in recruitment has recently been observed across the industry. Kakao Ventures established a dedicated “Growth Team” this year to directly identify and connect talent tailored to each stage of a company’s growth, while Altos Ventures also recently expanded its Human Resources (HR) and Talent Acquisition (TA) teams. This indicates that an increasing number of fund managers are extending their involvement beyond simply disbursing capital to include recruitment and organizational development. There is also an underlying recognition that, amid a shrinking exit market, driving the growth of existing portfolio companies is directly linked to investment performance.

Kwon Oh-hyung, CEO of FuturePlay, explained, “FuturePlay considers supporting the healthy growth of the companies we invest in to be a core value,” adding, “We are actively assisting in finding and recruiting the most critical talent. This recruitment fair with Seoul National University is our first effort to systematically identify key talent.”