SK Networks' global investments hit $176m

SK Networks said Wednesday it has invested an accumulative $176 million in some 20 global projects as of 2023, disclosing its global investment performance for the first time at an investment briefing session.

“Based on our investment experiences in Silicon Valley, we will play a gate-keeper role in global innovation,” said SK Networks General Executive Director & President Choi Sung-hwan in his opening remarks at the event held in Seoul.

“We will use our influence not just to improve the convenience of our daily lives but also to tackle social and economic challenges.”

During SK Networks' “Global Annual General Meeting” held in Seoul, the company said it made use of its global investment network called "Hico System."

According to SK Networks, the network consists of some 220 investors, entrepreneurs, legal experts and finance specialists.

SK Networks said that by utilizing these connections, Hico Capital, an investment company in Silicon Valley that SK Networks established in 2020, has since invested $176 million for a slew of projects across the world.

SK Networks, which started as a trading unit affiliated with SK Group, has more recently been pouring resources to transforming into an investment company that invests in early-stage startups, more recently those in the field of digital transformation.

The company said it invested $25 million in Standard Cognition, an artificial intelligence-based unmanned payment system developer, and $4 million in Sabanto, an autonomous agriculture equipment solutions company.

"In the early days of US investment, we mainly invested in global top-tier funds to make use of deal sourcing processes and verify investment channels, but, we are currently increasing direct investment as our investment management system has been established," said Jung Han-jong, head of the new growth promotion division.

"We will expand our investment portfolio and global investment community to enhance shareholder value and accelerate innovation."

SK Networks also said it will push to introduce the US market to domestic stakeholders by utilizing its internalized capabilities.