They will scout promising startups and support growth and fundraising, while staging a Korean ‘Meet the Drapers’ event and launching a ‘Draper University Korea’ program
A.S.K Ventures (CEO Hong Jin-man) signed a memorandum of understanding with Draper Startup House Korea Center (representative Lee Se-yong, hereafter ‘Draper’) on the 21st to help South Korean startups expand overseas, support their growth and collaborate on investment.
Under the deal, the two organizations will build a cooperation framework covering startup scouting, localization advice, global network connections, fundraising and follow-up support.
In particular, the two institutions agreed to jointly execute several programs that Draper is preparing to hold in Korea later this year: (1) a Korean event for the Silicon Valley fundraising and U.S. expansion program ‘Meet the Drapers’ (MTD) Season 10; (2) the launch of a ‘Draper University Korea’ program to discover and train talent for global expansion; and (3) a program to identify promising startups in the bio and healthcare sectors.
A.S.K Ventures and Draper to form joint fund for startup investment
A central part of the agreement is investment cooperation. The two organizations said they will actively consider co-investing in outstanding portfolio companies and will jointly pursue the formation of a fund structured with co-general partners (Co-GP) so that Korean startups can attract investments from both domestic and international investors. The plan is to broaden fundraising opportunities by linking Draper’s U.S. and global venture capital (VC), corporate venture capital (CVC) and angel investor networks with A.S.K Ventures’ domestic institutional investor network.
Partners plan South Korea event for ‘Meet the Drapers’ Season 10
One of the first programs the two sides will jointly pursue is a Korea event for ‘Meet the Drapers.’ Meet the Drapers is a global startup pitch show where entrepreneurs pitch directly to the Draper family investors—including Tim Draper—and invited judges, with audience voting also part of the format. In this year’s ‘MTD Season 9,’ the winning company was offered a $1 million investment, while the runner-up was offered an investment opportunity worth $500,000. Since its launch in 2016, more than 300 entrepreneurs from 66 cities worldwide have taken the stage. They plan to jointly organize and run Korean preliminary and final rounds so promising South Korean startups can meet Silicon Valley investors directly and compete for investment.
Partners plan launch of ‘Draper University Korea’ program
The two institutions also agreed to cooperate on the domestic launch of ‘Draper University Korea,’ a program that discovers and trains promising startups and entrepreneurs (‘Super Heroes’) aiming for global expansion. Draper University, founded by Tim Draper in 2012 in San Mateo, California, is an entrepreneurial education institution that runs an immersive five- to seven-week residential ‘Hero Training Program.’ The program delivers hands-on training from idea discovery through prototype development, fundraising pitching, and legal and media training. Signature elements include ‘Survival Week,’ an intensive leadership training led by former Navy SEAL instructors, and a Demo Day where participants pitch before real investors.
Since its founding, the program says it has produced more than 5,000 graduates from over 100 countries, led to the creation of about 700 startups and generated more than $950 million in cumulative fundraising. The two groups said they plan to finalize details on jointly operating the ‘Draper University Korea’ program starting early next year so that the curriculum and mentor network—previously available only in Silicon Valley—can be experienced domestically.
Oh Kang-rok, co-CEO and head of startup growth support at Draper Startup House Korea Center, said, “The two organizations will continuously identify opportunities for Korean startups to expand globally and build a collaborative structure that turns those opportunities into tangible investment outcomes.” He added, “As the saying goes, ‘If you want to go far, go together.’ Through a long-term partnership, we will produce visible results.”
Hong Jin-man, CEO of A.S.K Ventures, said, “By growing together with global investor Draper, we will continuously create tangible opportunities for Korean startups to expand internationally and attract investment.” He added, “Through this collaboration, we hope to inject fresh energy into the increasingly important Korean startup ecosystem.”
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