Dean Kim
Founder / Partner
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- Full Name
- Dean Gee-Hun Kim (김지훈; also listed as Dean H. Kim)
- Title
- Founder, Partner & Vice Chairman
- Firm
- Stonebridge Capital (parent of Stonebridge Ventures)
- Firm Type
- Venture Capital / Private Equity firm (the stub's "Angel Investors" label understates this — Stonebridge is an institutional VC/PE manager with $700M+ AUM)
- Investment Stage
- Seed through late stage (Stonebridge Ventures invests across seed, Series A/B/C)
- Sector Focus
- Technology (IT/software, semiconductors, AI), consumer/internet, fintech, and bio/life sciences
- Geographic Focus
- South Korea (primary)
- Location
- Seoul, South Korea
Background
Dean Gee-Hun Kim is the founder and a partner (Vice Chairman) of Stonebridge Capital, one of Korea's established independent private-equity and venture-capital houses, which he founded in December 2008. Stonebridge later spun its venture-fund operation into a dedicated entity, Stonebridge Ventures, in 2017. Kim holds a B.A. from Seoul National University (studies in molecular biology), an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and completed the Columbia Senior Executive Program. Earlier in his career he worked in the Strategy Planning Office at Samsung Electronics.
Before Stonebridge, Kim was a co-founder of IMM (co-founding IMM Financial Advisory in 1998) and served as CEO of IMM Venture Capital and IMM Investment, helping build one of Korea's most prominent PE/VC franchises. At IMM he led or played a significant role in landmark Korean transactions including CJ Entertainment, Mediaplex, Cyworld, and Sidus HQ. Following the Sidus HQ merger he served as President of iHQ, which he helped expand into one of Korea's largest entertainment/management agencies before leaving to launch Stonebridge Capital.
Today Kim sits at the top of the Stonebridge platform, which spans buyout/growth private equity and the Stonebridge Ventures technology and life-sciences venture practice. The venture arm manages a portfolio of well-known Korean growth companies and has been active in semiconductors and AI in recent years.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Backs Korean technology and life-sciences companies from seed to late stage, through the Stonebridge Ventures platform.
- Core sectors: IT/software, semiconductors, AI, consumer/internet, fintech, and bio/healthcare.
- Institutional scale rather than personal angel checks — Stonebridge runs multiple funds with $700M+ in AUM, so ticket sizes range from early rounds up to substantial growth-stage participations.
- Strong orientation toward companies with a clear path to a Korea (KOSDAQ/KOSPI) IPO or strategic exit — consistent with Kim's long track record of taking Korean companies public and through M&A.
- Deep-tech conviction: in 2023 Stonebridge Ventures committed ~₩120 billion (~$90.9M) specifically into semiconductor and AI startups.
Notable Investments
- Krafton — Korean gaming company (PUBG maker); Stonebridge Ventures portfolio, later IPO'd on KOSPI.
- SoCar — Korean car-sharing unicorn; Stonebridge Ventures portfolio, subsequently listed.
- Zigbang — leading Korean proptech / real-estate platform.
- Rainist — fintech startup (Banksalad operator); Series C participation.
- OpenEdges Technology, Gaon Chips, OnePredict — semiconductor/AI companies backed in the 2023 ₩120B deep-tech push.
- ADRO — auto-technology startup (Series A).
- SNAPTAG — business-services company (Series B).
- Earlier IMM-era deals led by Kim: CJ Entertainment, Mediaplex, Cyworld, and Sidus HQ.
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