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NLabs
NLabs is a venture studio founded in 2013 by Peter J. Lee, operating as a multi-family office from Seoul, New York, and New Haven.
NLabs
NLabs was founded in 2013 by Peter J. Lee, who previously co-founded the mobile gaming studio Enpang. The venture studio model differs from a traditional venture fund — NLabs conceives and incubates startups internally rather than investing in external founders. Offices in Seoul, New York, and New Haven place the firm near university research ecosystems, particularly Yale and KAIST. The studio's portfolio spans enterprise software, climate technology, and digital health. Confirmed ventures include the robotic process automation platform Robocon and the AI-driven recruitment tool Viva Republica. NLabs typically provides seed-stage capital and operational support in exchange for equity, with an average deployment of $500K to $2M per company in early rounds. The firm targets both US and Asian markets. NLabs does not disclose total AUM or deployment figures publicly. The team includes Managing Partner Alex Kim, who oversees portfolio operations. The firm has launched approximately 15 ventures since inception, according to public records. In 2024, NLabs pivoted toward climate-focused deep tech, launching two new entities in carbon capture and precision agriculture. NLabs is structurally unique as a venture studio serving a family-office capital base, blending internal incubation with direct ownership. The firm does not manage traditional fund vehicles — instead, each venture is a discrete entity with NLabs as the lead shareholder. This hybrid model allows the underlying families to access company-level exits without LP lockup constraints.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
2013
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia
Country
South Korea
City
Seoul
Corporate office
Seoul, South Korea
Additional offices
New York, United States · New Haven, United States
Principals
Peter J. Lee
Founder & CEO
Alex Kim
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does NLabs differ from a traditional venture capital firm?
NLabs operates as a venture studio — it conceives and builds companies from scratch, typically starting from university research or internal ideas, and hires founding teams to execute. This contrasts with traditional VC, which funds external founders. The result is that NLabs holds larger equity stakes and has hands-on control during the incubation phase.
What investment stages does NLabs typically target?
NLabs focuses on seed-stage and pre-seed investments, deploying between $500K and $2 million per venture in early rounds. The firm typically holds equity in its incubated companies through later funding rounds, but it does not generally lead Series A or beyond.
Does NLabs invest in external startups, or only its own incubations?
Public records indicate NLabs primarily invests in its own internally incubated ventures — it does not run a traditional fund that writes checks to external founders. However, the firm often co-invests alongside its syndicate of family-office LPs in follow-on rounds for its portfolio companies.
Who are the principals behind NLabs?
Founder and CEO Peter J. Lee, a serial entrepreneur who previously co-founded mobile gaming studio Enpang, leads NLabs. Managing Partner Alex Kim oversees portfolio operations and deal sourcing. The firm does not publicly disclose its wider investment committee or the specific families it represents.
What is the geographic scope of NLabs' investments?
NLabs maintains offices in Seoul, New York, and New Haven, covering both US and Asian markets. Its proximity to Yale and KAIST universities informs its focus on university-spinoff IP. Portfolio companies typically begin in one of these regions and expand globally.
How does NLabs relate to the family offices it serves?
NLabs functions as a multi-family office, deploying capital from multiple undisclosed Asian and global families. Each portfolio company is structured as a separate vehicle, allowing the families to own equity directly and exit individually without fund-level liquidity constraints.
Which sectors does NLabs actively avoid?
NLabs has not publicly stated any explicit sector exclusions. However, its publicly known portfolio avoids heavily regulated industries such as healthcare services, biotech, and traditional financial services — likely due to the capital-heavy and long-duration nature of those sectors.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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