Pathway Partners

What Pathway Partners does

Pathway Partners (패스웨이파트너스) is a South Korea-based venture capital firm headquartered in Gangnam, Seoul, that invests in growth-stage companies across the bio/healthcare and technology sectors. The firm operates through two legal entities — Pathway Partners LLC (유한회사 패스웨이파트너스) and Pathway Investment Inc. (패스웨이인베스트먼트 주식회사) — and manages approximately 172.9 billion KRW (~$130M USD) in assets under management across 22 funds and 18 portfolio companies, with three disclosed positions of 10 billion KRW or more in Telepix, GeneEDIT, and Galux.

The firm's core differentiator is a proprietary technical evaluation framework used to assess and prepare candidates for technology-specialty IPOs (기술특례상장) on KOSDAQ, an approach grounded in CEO Lee Sang-jin's prior experience as CFO of Olix and Viewno — both of which completed such listings. The firm runs a multi-track due diligence process and operates a network of more than 45 domestic and international investment firms for deal sourcing and syndication, evidenced by recent co-investments with JB Investment (Amogy, 50 billion KRW, July 2025) and Loftic Investment (first blind fund of 117 billion KRW, December 2025). The portfolio spans bio/healthcare, climate technology, and deep tech, with non-capital services such as a financial advisory MOU with Samjung KPMG extending the value proposition beyond capital deployment.

Revenue mechanics are typical of a Korean growth-stage VC: management fees on committed capital (generally 1.5–2.0% in market practice) and carried interest on realized exits. Specific revenue, fee, or carry figures are not publicly disclosed. The firm serves Korean institutional LPs (disclosed backers include Hana Securities, UnidBTPlus, and Donggubio) and the founders and management teams of its 18 portfolio companies, with the value proposition increasingly anchored on IPO-readiness support rather than capital alone.

Name

Pathway Partners

Legal name

유한회사 패스웨이파트너스 / 패스웨이인베스트먼트 주식회사

Website

https://pathwaygroup.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Pathway Partners is a Seoul-based venture capital firm that invests in growth-stage Korean bio/healthcare and technology companies, managing approximately 172.9 billion KRW across 22 funds and 18 portfolio companies with a focus on KOSDAQ technology-specialty IPO candidates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital Investment Services

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Venture capital services
• Growth stage investment
• Healthcare private equity
• Pre-IPO investment
• Biotech venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Gangneung

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: VC/PE management fees collected from fund operations. The firm operates 22 funds including project funds, blind funds, and Co-GP structures, generating recurring management fee income.
2. Carried Interest (성과의 보상): Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio company exits through IPO or M&A. The firm targets listing or strategic sale as the primary exit path for invested companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pathway Partners is a Korean venture capital firm that invests growth-stage equity capital into bio/healthcare and technology companies (Series B and beyond) and provides active post-investment strategic support including ownership structure design, organizational restructuring, IPO and M&A preparation, and Korea Exchange technology-specialty listing (기술성평가) advisory. The firm operates 22 funds, including direct equity vehicles, a 117 billion KRW Co-GP blind fund with Loftic Investment, and project funds with co-investors such as JB Investment.

Product overview

Pathway Partners is a Korean venture capital firm that operates as a single unified investment services platform rather than a multi-module product suite. The firm specializes in bio/healthcare and technology sector investments, offering strategic financial partnership to startups. Related entities include Pathway Investment (패스웨이인베스트먼트), which focuses on pre-IPO investments, and manages funds such as the Pathway Loftlink Bio Healthcare Fund 1st (패스웨이로프티록바이오헬스케어조합1호). The firm provides investment services, IPO preparation support, technology evaluation, and M&A advisory to portfolio companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pathway Partners Investment Services Venture capital and investment services specializing in bio/healthcare and technology growth-stage companies, providing strategic partnership, ownership structure design, organizational restructuring, IPO/M&A preparation, and Korea Exchange technology-specialty listing evaluation (기술성평가) support to portfolio companies.
• PathwayLofticBioHealthcareFund No.1 (Co-GP Blind Fund) 117 billion KRW Co-General Partner blind pool fund co-managed with Loftic Investment, targeting bio/healthcare growth-stage companies with pre-identified investment targets; LPs include Hana Securities and UnidBTPlus.
• Amogy Project Fund (with JB Investment) 50 billion KRW joint project fund with JB Investment for acquisition of preferred shares in Amogy, an ammonia-based decarbonization energy solutions company, with UnidBTPlus (KOSPI-listed) as anchor LP.
• Bio/Healthcare Growth-Stage Direct Equity Investment Program Direct equity investment program targeting bio/healthcare growth-stage companies (Series B and beyond) with active post-investment support including ownership structure design, organizational restructuring, and listing/M&A preparation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18 companies invested in; 22 funds operated; cumulative AUM of approximately 1,729 billion KRW
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Samjung KPMG (삼정KPMG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2025Pathway Partners signed an MOU with Samjung KPMG for strengthened bio/healthcare financial advisory capabilities. Samjung KPMG's valuation and due diligence operations will involve Pathway Partners' specialized personnel to strengthen industry expertise. In return, Samjung KPMG will provide M&A advisory support for portfolio companies identified by Pathway Partners. This partnership addresses the challenge of evaluating non-financial factors in drug development portfolios and enables more precise industry-specific valuation for bio/healthcare investments.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• KDB Capital: Korean state-backed investment company (KDB Group) deploying capital across VC and growth-stage mandates, including bio/healthcare, offering a comparable institutional LP/GP dynamic.
• KB Investment: Korean VC/PE arm of KB Financial Group, operating broadly across growth and buyout stages with overlapping bio/healthcare exposure but at a much larger and more diversified scale.
• Mirae Asset Venture Investment: Korean venture investment arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group, providing broader diversification across stages and sectors with overlap in tech and bio investing.
• IMM Investment: Large Korean private equity and venture investor with broad sector mandates, providing a benchmark for incumbent Korean PE/VCs that occasionally overlap with Pathway's growth-stage tech/bio investing.

Emerging players

• Smilegate Investment: Korean corporate-affiliated VC focused on technology and deep tech investments, including select bio exposure, comparable in scale and active value-add style to Pathway Partners.

Direct peers

• LB Investment: Korean mid-market PE/VC investing in growth-stage technology and life sciences companies with active value-up support, comparable to Pathway in stage, sector focus, and ticket size.
• Atinum Investment: Korean venture capital firm investing in growth-stage tech and bio/healthcare companies with active post-investment support, closely mirroring Pathway Partners' mandate and deal stage focus.
• Korea Investment Partners: Established Korean PE/VC firm with deep coverage of growth-stage technology and bio/healthcare, where CEO Lee Sang-jin previously led the PE investment team, providing a directly comparable operating model.
• TS Investment: Korean growth-stage VC with bio/tech focus and KOSDAQ pre-IPO orientation, pursuing a similar strategy of supporting companies through tech-specialty listings.
• Solid Investment: Korean growth-stage VC focused on bio and technology sectors, with comparable portfolio construction (pre-IPO, KOSDAQ tech-special listings) and similar fund structures to Pathway Partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/%EC%83%81%EC%A7%84-%EC%9D%B4-95b64066

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments7 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Pathway Partners