Hyundai Motor Group to launch $80 mn startup fund

Hyundai Motor Group and the group’s social contribution foundation will create a domestic startup fund to invest a total of 100 billion won ($81 million) in early-stage companies for the next five years.

The new fund will select 50 startups annually for a total of 250 firms by 2027, which are expected to creat 6,000 jobs at home, both the automotive group and Chung Mong-Koo Foundation said on Monday.

Hyundai Motor Group and the foundation will inject a combined 15 billion won into the fund and raise an additional 85 billion won from external investors to start their investment next year.

Chung Mong-Koo Foundation is named after Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun’s father and the group’s honorary chairman.

Both Hyundai Motor Group and the foundation unveiled the five-year startup investment blueprint during their joint event, dubbed H-OnDream Opening Impact Day, on Monday.

Under the latest plan, they will increase the number of firms to receive their investment or financial support from last year’s 28 to 50 per year.

Since last year, they have been investing in social impact startups that tackle social problems and make a profit as well.

Their target companies should meet one of the three prerequisites: early-stage startups in their first three years or less; firms with more than 100 million won in annual sales; and projects to solve environmental problems.

Separately, Hyundai Motor Group said last week that it will invest 63 trillion won in its domestic businesses through 2025 for electrification, robotics and urban air mobility as well as gasoline cars, in addition to the $10.5 billion earmarked for the US investment for the same period.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article