KB Financial Group announced on the 1st that it has established a KRW 160 billion “KB Deep Tech Scale-up Fund” to support innovative companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics sectors that are aiming to become a “Korean Nvidia.”

According to KB Financial, the fund was created with KRW 75 billion contributed by the Korea Fund of Funds, and an additional KRW 85 billion from KB Financial affiliates including KB Kookmin Bank, KB Securities, KB Insurance, and KB Investment. The group plans to expand the fund’s size to KRW 200 billion in the first half of the year by attracting further external capital.

The main investment targets are nine sectors: △system semiconductors △bio/healthcare △future mobility △eco-friendly/energy △robots △cybersecurity/networks △space/aerospace and marine △next-generation nuclear power △quantum technologies. The group plans to invest more than KRW 10 billion per company to support technology commercialization and global market expansion.

KB Financial will establish a new division overseeing corporate banking to enhance its capacity to execute productive finance. It has increased the number of specialists (analysts, credit officers, etc.) with strong understanding of advanced industries such as semiconductors, AI, and bio. It has also newly added productive finance as a separate metric in its branch performance evaluation system. A KB Financial official stated, “We will support ‘K-startups,’ which will shape the future of the national economy, so that they can grow into ‘K-Nvidias.’”

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