Seoul Metropolitan Government is expanding its contributions to the “Vision 2030 Fund” to foster future strategic industries, including artificial intelligence (AI).

On the 19th, the city announced that it will commit KRW 60 billion to the fund in the first half of this year alone (January to June). The Vision 2030 Fund is a policy-type fund that invests in future industries by adding government and private capital to the city’s contributions, with a goal of creating a total fund size of KRW 5 trillion by 2030.

Based on this latest contribution, the city is working to attract private and government capital and aims to establish funds totaling around KRW 935 billion in the first half of the year. Investment targets will be expanded from Seoul-based companies to startups nationwide.

The city has specifically allocated KRW 10 billion to the “physical AI” sector. When combined with private and government funds, this is expected to expand to about KRW 150 billion. Physical AI refers to technologies in which artificial intelligence is integrated with physical systems such as robots and autonomous driving devices. This is the first time since the fund’s launch in 2023 that Seoul has decided to invest in this sector. A city official said, “This reflects the trend of AI expanding from a software-centered domain into the physical realm,” adding, “We plan to focus on nurturing specialized companies in this area.”

The city will also contribute KRW 15 billion to the “entertech” sector, which combines cultural content and technology. Including private capital, the fund size is expected to reach about KRW 255 billion. Key investment targets will be companies that apply advanced technologies to content industries such as music and film.

For the scale-up sector, which supports companies in their growth phase, the city has allocated KRW 20 billion. The total fund size is targeted at around KRW 280 billion. Through this, the city plans to alleviate funding difficulties for small and venture companies and support their overseas expansion.

The city will also contribute KRW 15 billion to the software-based AI sector. Including government and private funds, this will be expanded to around KRW 250 billion. Major investment targets will include data analytics firms and AI infrastructure companies.

The procedure for selecting fund management companies is also underway. Asset management firms wishing to participate in the operation of the Vision 2030 Fund must submit their proposals to the Seoul Business Agency by the 8th of next month.

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