Wanted Lab Partners

Wanted Lab Partners is the venture capital investment arm, structurally separate from the Wanted recruitment platform, which operates as a Korean HR tech business that went public via SPAC in March 2023. The two entities share a common origin and network, and the investment team leverages the platform's talent data and recruitment infrastructure to support portfolio companies' hiring needs. The VC partnership is not a subsidiary of the public company.

Wanted Lab Partners targets early and growth-stage companies, with typical initial checks in the range of $500,000 to $3 million, reserving capital for follow-on rounds. The firm can lead or co-lead seed and Series A rounds in the Korean market, occasionally participating in later-stage rounds for existing portfolio companies showing strong international traction. Specific check sizes vary by fund vintage and sector.

The firm's primary investment geography is South Korea, where it backs domestically headquartered startups. It shows a secondary interest in teams with immediate go-to-market plans for North America and Southeast Asia, and may participate in the international incorporation or expansion rounds of Korean-founded companies. The firm does not actively source deals from non-Korean founding teams without a Korea nexus.

Wanted Lab Partners does not invest in consumer mobile apps, pure-play e-commerce, or crypto and blockchain protocols — categories it considers either too crowded for Korea's market size or outside its GP competency. The firm also avoids hard-science biotech requiring FDA regulatory paths, preferring digital health plays built on software and AI rather than drug discovery.

The firm operates as a direct investment vehicle, making equity investments into operating companies rather than committing capital to other venture funds. It does not market itself as a fund-of-funds and has no known LP positions in external managers. The partnership structure is designed for direct startup exposure with active board participation.