[INTERVIEW] Crit Ventures leverages industry expertise to ride ‚K-content‘ wave

Track Jae-joon, CEO of CRIT Ventures, poses on the enterprise capital’s headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of CRIT Ventures

It was the 2000s when Track Jae-joon spearheaded Korea’s first cellular recreation growth. Starting with a easy black-and-white recreation on LG’s early function telephones, his startup — then known as Gamevil — gained widespread recognition by creating informal video games that captivated Koreans.

By 2010, the rise of smartphones marked a turning level. With computing energy rivaling that of non-public computer systems, cellular video games have been abruptly capable of ship subtle gameplay. On the similar time, the arrival of app shops made launching international companies simpler than ever, accelerating market progress.

Amid the fast evolution, Track’s firm survived and thrived. Rebranded as Com2uS after buying a rival in 2013, the agency has remained a key participant within the gaming trade whereas branching out into content material manufacturing and the rising Web3 area. Over twenty years, Track has accrued experience in recreation growth, funding and even cryptocurrency issuance.

„The gaming trade is basically hit-driven, making it extremely difficult to foretell whether or not a recreation will succeed or not,“ Track stated in a current interview with The Korea Instances. „It’s troublesome to rely solely on monetary engineering. Knowledgeable choices require intensive trade expertise and accrued experience.“

In 2020, Track transitioned his profession into enterprise capital (VC), founding CRIT Ventures, the company VC arm of Com2uS. Specializing in funding in gaming, content material, Net 3 and ICT startups, it has invested in additional than 100 startups over 4 years. It deployed 90 billion received in 2023 and 22.5 billion received in 2024.

„In Silicon Valley, the so-called ‚PayPal Mafia‘ created a virtuous cycle, investing, sharing information and mentoring others who then went on to succeed and spend money on flip. Korea, although slower to observe this path, is now seeing its first-generation entrepreneurs step into investor roles,“ Track stated.

„I noticed that sharing my insights and experience with entrepreneurs might be a significant contribution to the Korean startup ecosystem.“

Members of Okay-pop woman group Le Sserafim pose on the crimson carpet through the Asia Artist Awards 2024 at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani on the outskirts of Bangkok, December 2024. Yonhap-EPA

What’s subsequent for Okay-content, Korea’s present most promising trade

Trying forward, Track identifies „Okay-content“— Korea’s quickly rising presence in gaming, music and media — because the nation’s most promising trade. Historically, Korea’s financial progress has been pushed by industries comparable to semiconductors, shipbuilding and automobiles. However in accordance with Track, the worldwide demand for Okay-content has opened new frontiers.

„One space the place different nations discover it troublesome to compete with Korea is content material,“ Track defined. „The intersection of content material and IT has fueled its international unfold.“

The numbers again him up. In line with Billboard’s „The 12 months in Touring 2023“ report, Okay-pop performances accounted for five.1 % of world live performance market income from November 2022 to September 2023.

Equally, Netflix’s „What We Watched the Second Half of 2023“ report revealed that Korean content material led amongst non-English sequence, commanding a 9 % share of world viewing hours, adopted by Spanish at 7 % and Japanese at 5 %.

„The unfold of Okay-content remains to be in its early phases, however its market share is already substantial,“ Track famous. „The important thing query is that this: how can we construction this enterprise and monetize the trade? If we industrialize it strategically, Okay-content may seize much more international consideration and develop into a serious financial driver for Korea.“

Actor Lee Jung-jae reprises his function of Seong Gi-hun in Netflix’s „Squid Sport“ Season 2. Courtesy of Netflix

Nonetheless, investing in Okay-content doesn’t essentially imply making direct investments in Korea’s main leisure firms. Track means that adjoining domains will be equally important.

As an illustration, one in all CRIT’s standout portfolio firms is DOD, an leisure startup. In contrast to conventional companies that prepare rookies, DOD focuses on signing established artists coming into the so-called free-agent market. With CRIT’s early seed funding, DOD’s valuation has skyrocketed almost tenfold, reaching fast progress.

One other portfolio success is Chartmetric, a U.S.-based startup based by a Korean entrepreneur. The corporate aggregates international music information and delivers insights by way of a subscription-based software-as-a-service platform, making it an indispensable software for trade professionals.

As CRIT Ventures enters 2025, it’s poised to grab this wave of alternatives. The agency is able to entice consideration from international restricted companions wanting to discover Korea’s burgeoning market. Including to its international attain, CRIT Ventures‘ U.S. subsidiary focuses not solely on the Web3 trade but in addition serves as a bridge, connecting abroad gamers with Korean startups.

„The gaming trade has efficiently developed mental properties (IP) that create substantial worth and drive profitability. Every main recreation firm has its personal distinctive IP,“ Track stated. „I consider the content material area may also steadily observe swimsuit, changing into extra structured and commercialized over time.“

CRIT Ventures has already confirmed its capability to draw worldwide capital. In 2021, 5 international gaming firms invested in a worldwide interactive content material fund co-managed by CRIT Ventures and Korea Funding Companions. Amongst them was Supercell, the developer of Conflict of Clans, marking the primary time the corporate invested in a Korean fund.

„World firms within the content material enterprise should significantly contemplate Korea’s rising market share, particularly with the explosive rise of Okay-content,“ Track emphasised.