S.Korean game behemoth invests $16 mn in Elon Musk's SpaceX

The founder of South Korea's leading game company Nexon Co. has invested $16 million in SpaceX, the aerospace company headed by Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Inc.

NXC Corp., the holding company of Nexon, participated in SpaceX's $1.9 billion fundraising in August 2020 under the direction of chairman Kim Jung-joo. The company committed around 60% of the fund set up by a domestic asset management company to acquire a portion of the new convertible preferred shares issued by SpaceX.

It is understood that NXC didn't get as many shares as it wanted due to fierce competition. Still, this marks the first time for a Korean investment company to become a shareholder of SpaceX.

Founded in 2002, SpaceX is a US-based space exploration company built on Musk's mission to facilitate migration to Mars. The company has developed its own rockets and spacecraft modules.

Last May, SpaceX set a milestone in the history of space exploration as the first private company to send a manned spacecraft, Falcon 9, to the International Space Station. Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket, according to the company.

NXC's investment in SpaceX isn't its first foray into the non-game arena. The company's investments cover a wide range of sectors from fintech, shared economy, retail and education.

The company's investment portfolio includes some 20 companies, including Europe-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, high-end stroller maker Stokke, and premium golf wear brand Mark & Lona. 


Write to Joo-wan Kim at kjwan@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.