Coupang Co-Founder’s $100 Million VC Fund Wants to Fund the ‘Korea Graph’

New venture capitalists are climbing a wall of skepticism when they raise new funds, particularly as they compete with established firms like General Catalyst, which just raised $8 billion. Even veterans of some of the most successful startups are finding it tough.

That was the case for Chris Koh, co-founder of Korean e-commerce giant Coupang. He set out to raise a debut venture fund for his firm, HRZ Han River, in 2022 and found it took years, not months, to complete. “It is a tougher environment than we thought,” he said.

Koh succeeded, lining up $100 million earlier this year. The fund will invest in the “Korea graph,” or “technology, talent and market trends that come from Korea or intersect with Korea” from robotics to entertainment technology, he said in an interview.