FuturePlay

CEO Ryu Joong-hee leads the investment committee, with Partner Hwang Sung-jae playing a key role in deal selection and portfolio support. Ryu, an engineer by training, founded the firm and remains its most public-facing principal. Day-to-day sourcing is handled by a team of investment managers and in-house engineers embedded in the accelerator program.

FuturePlay generates pipeline through its own accelerator program, which attracts early-stage founders from top Korean universities and corporate spin-outs. The firm also runs open calls and demo days that draw hundreds of applicants per cohort. In addition, it has co-investment relationships with domestic corporate venture arms and regional funds, providing a secondary sourcing channel.

It is both. FuturePlay runs a structured accelerator that provides capital, office space, and hands-on engineering and design support to pre-seed startups. It simultaneously manages venture funds that invest in seed and Series A rounds, often following on from its own accelerator graduates but also investing in external deals.

FuturePlay predominantly makes direct equity investments into startups, either through its accelerator program or via its venture funds. It does not publicly market itself as a fund-of-funds investor or an LP in other VC firms; its model is built around direct startup exposure.

FuturePlay does not publish a formal exclusion list, but its portfolio concentration in AI, robotics, digital health, enterprise software, and mobility suggests it avoids capital-intensive industries like heavy manufacturing, traditional energy, and real estate development. The firm has not established a dedicated biotech or hard-science therapeutics track, distinguishing it from life-sciences-focused VCs.

The accelerator is a fixed-term program that provides pre-seed funding, mentorship, and in-house engineering resources to help teams build a minimum viable product. The venture fund writes larger checks — often $500,000 to $3 million — into seed or Series A rounds. Many accelerator graduates receive follow-on funding from the fund, but the two operate under separate mandates and capital pools.

Yes. FuturePlay has invested in Southeast Asian startups and operates an accelerator program in Vietnam. It also backs Korean portfolio companies expanding into markets such as Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan, and has co-invested with regional funds based outside Korea.