What Series Ventures does

Series Ventures (시리즈벤처스) is a private, regional venture capital firm and accelerator headquartered in Changwon, South Korea, with a secondary office at BIFC2 in Busan. Founded in June 2017, the firm focuses exclusively on seed and early-stage startups in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (BUG) region, positioning itself as a "running mate" (러닝메이트) for founders operating outside Seoul's dominant venture ecosystem. It does not develop proprietary technology; its core offering is the ONE-STEP accelerator program, supplemented by co-operation of two institutional accelerator programs—IBK창공 Busan (currently in its 14th cohort with IBK 기업은행) and UNIST CAMP (8th cohort with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)—plus the Vensday co-working/incubation platform.

The firm's portfolio spans more than twenty disclosed companies across air quality, maritime engineering, automotive services, retail digitalization, advanced materials, healthcare, biotech, digital pathology, autonomous robotics, cosmetics, and footwear manufacturing. Recent disclosed seed investments include SYU (KRW 800 million, AI-agent-based ERP automation for SMEs, January 2026) and CAMP (aerospace/defense laser-beam welding, March 2026). Reported portfolio outcomes include cumulative follow-on investments exceeding KRW 25 billion and KRW 8.15 billion raised by the 13th IBK cohort companies in H2 2025 at an average 4.4x year-over-year sales growth.

Revenue mechanics are typical of an early-stage Korean VC/accelerator: capital deployment into portfolio companies, management of accelerator cohorts, and returns realized via exit events and subsequent funding rounds. Series Ventures is privately held with no disclosed valuation, 1–10 employees, and no public revenue figures. In April/May 2026, the firm was among four accelerators issued warnings and corrective orders by South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups for alleged violations of the management-control investment ban under the Venture Investment Promotion Act, representing a notable regulatory risk to its operating model.

Name

Series Ventures

Legal name

주식회사 시리즈벤처스

Website

https://s-ventures.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Series Ventures is a private South Korean regional venture capital firm and accelerator, founded in 2017 and based in Changwon and Busan, that invests in and supports seed-stage startups across the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region through its ONE-STEP accelerator and partnerships with IBK and UNIST.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital and Startup Accelerator

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM), Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Seed venture capital
• Startup accelerator
• Early-stage investment
• Regional venture funding
• Startup incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Changwon

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment returns / Capital gains: Series Ventures generates returns through equity investments in seed and early-stage startups in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region. Returns are realized through exit events (acquisitions, subsequent funding rounds).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Series Ventures is a regional venture capital firm and startup accelerator that deploys seed capital into early-stage startups in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region of South Korea. It operates the ONE-STEP accelerator program (established June 2017) and co-operates the IBK Chang Gong Busan and UNIST CAMP accelerators, providing investment, mentorship, and operational support to portfolio companies.

Product overview

Series Ventures is a regional startup-focused investment company headquartered in Busan, South Korea, operating across the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region. The company operates the ONE-STEP Accelerator program (established June 5, 2017) and co-operates accelerator programs including IBK창공 부산 and UNIST 캠프, providing investment and business development support to portfolio startups. Series Ventures' portfolio spans diverse sectors including aerospace manufacturing, AI-driven ERP automation, air quality technology, maritime engineering, automotive services, retail digitalization, advanced materials, healthcare, biotechnology, digital pathology, and autonomous robotics. The company does not appear to offer a proprietary SaaS product; its offerings are investment and acceleration services to external startups, along with shared office facilities and the Vensday co-working/incubation platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ONE-STEP Accelerator: Startup accelerator program operated by Series Ventures to support startups with potential ideas and technologies. Established on June 5, 2017.

Products and services

• ONE-STEP Accelerator Startup accelerator program operated by Series Ventures since June 5, 2017, supporting the growth of startups with promising ideas and technologies in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region through investment matching and operational support.
• IBK Chang Gong Busan Accelerator Accelerator program co-operated by Series Ventures with IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, targeting startups in the Busan region across AI, biotech, marine, and materials/components sectors. The 13th cohort saw 12 participating companies raise approximately KRW 8.15 billion with average sales growth of 4.4x YoY.
• UNIST CAMP Accelerator Accelerator program co-operated by Series Ventures with UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) as part of the regional startup support ecosystem covering the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area.
• Vensday Co-working and Incubation Platform Shared office and incubation platform operated by Series Ventures as part of its startup support ecosystem in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region.

Quantifiable outcome

• IBK창공 부산 13기 and UNIST CAMP 7期 portfolio companies collectively raised approximately KRW 8.15 billion in investments in H2 2025, with average sales growth of 4.4x YoY among participating companies.
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Wow PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Wow Partners was selected as the operator of the LIPS program (local and lifestyle entrepreneur support program) in February 2026. Series Ventures collaborates with ecosystem partners for program operations.
• IBK창공 부산 (IBK Chang Gong Busan)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 January 2026Series Ventures co-operates the IBK창공 Busan accelerator program (currently in its 14th cohort) with IBK企业은행 (Industrial Bank of Korea). The 13th cohort companies raised approximately KRW 8.15 billion in H2 2025. IBK창공 focuses on AI, biotech, marine, and materials/components startups.
• UNIST CAMPcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 19 January 2026Series Ventures co-operates the UNIST CAMP accelerator program (currently in its 8th cohort) with UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology). The 7th cohort companies include startups that secured seed investment and TIPS selection.
• ONE-STEP AcceleratorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 5 June 2017Series Ventures operates the ONE-STEP accelerator program (est. June 2017) to identify and support promising seed-stage startups in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, providing investment matching and operational support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sunbo Angel Partners: Korean early-stage angel/seed investor that co-invested with Series Ventures in SYU and was named alongside Series Ventures in the May 2026 MSS regulatory action. Directly comparable in stage, ticket size, and regional Korean early-stage focus.
• Y&ARCHER: Korean accelerator named alongside Series Ventures in the same May 2026 MSS warning. Operates a similar early-stage accelerator model targeting Korean startups, making it a directly comparable peer in business model and regulatory exposure.
• InfoBank (인포뱅크): Korean accelerator also flagged in the May 2026 MSS regulatory action alongside Series Ventures. Operates an early-stage accelerator program and shares the same investor-operated accelerator archetype.
• Mashup Angels: One of Korea's largest angel networks focused on seed-stage Korean startups. Comparable in stage focus, Korean-market orientation, and providing accelerator-like support to early founders.
• Primer (프라이머): Korean early-stage VC and accelerator running pre-seed/seed programs for Korean founders. Comparable in stage, program structure, and target portfolio of Korean technology startups.
• FuturePlay (퓨처플레이): Korean early-stage deep-tech VC and accelerator backing seed-stage Korean tech founders. Directly comparable in stage, sector breadth, and accelerator-plus-investment model.

Broad incumbents

• NAVER D2SF: Corporate venture capital accelerator operated by NAVER, one of Korea's largest tech conglomerates. Overlaps with Series Ventures' accelerator-led seed investment model but at significantly larger scale and with NAVER's distribution as a structural advantage.
• Kakao Ventures: CVC arm of Kakao, investing seed to Series A in Korean startups. Comparable in stage and Korean tech market focus, but with far greater AUM, brand pull, and post-investment platform support.
• Smilegate Investment: Korean VC affiliated with Smilegate group, investing across seed to growth stages. Comparable in early-stage Korean tech investing, with broader stage coverage and larger fund size than Series Ventures.

Others

• TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) operators: Korea's flagship government-backed deep-tech startup support program run via MSS-approved operators. Functionally adjacent to Series Ventures' accelerator model: both source and support Korean early-stage startups and compete for the same founder pool and TIPS selection pathway.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/seriesventures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments73 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Series Ventures