SK C&C teams up with Storm Ventures for B2B tech startup investment

[Photo by Lee Chung-woo]

South Korea’s SK C&C Co. signed an agreement with U.S. venture capital firm Storm Ventures to discover and support promising business-to-business tech startups worldwide.

SK C&C said on Wednesday it will combine its industry-specific digital information technology service capabilities with Storm Ventures’ expertise in digital markets and know-how in discovering new technology to create a global digital innovation ecosystem.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2000, Storm Ventures focuses on early-stage investments in B2B tech startups. Its seven funds have assets under management of $1 billion. Storm Ventures has nurtured 12 unicorns, including online bank Solaris Bank. It has also invested in Korean startups such as Blind and CLASSUM.

Under the agreement, Storm Ventures will be responsible for introducing portfolio and promising startups that are expected to have synergies with SK C&C, while SK C&C will carry out proof of concept (PoC) for the startups and provide measures for optimal application and scaling of its digital systems.

SK C&C said it will explore artificial intelligence-based B2B businesses, an area where innovation is expected to surge with the emergence of supersized AI platforms.

SK C&C also plans to accelerate the development of new digital information technology service businesses by collaborating not only with Storm Ventures but also with other global venture capital firms to discover promising startups.