Samsung Venture Investment Corporation

Samsung Venture Investment Corporation is the corporate venture arm of Samsung Electronics, founded in 1999 and based in Seoul. It maintains a global presence with activity in innovation hubs such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, London, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Tokyo, and Beijing, and it backs emerging technology startups across Europe, Asia, and North America. The firm sources and invests in technology companies at multiple stages, from early-stage to pre-IPO, focusing on areas including semiconductors, materials, mobile services, internet, software, security, and enterprise solutions, as well as bioengineering and medical tech. Its investment approach targets companies developing AI, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, cybersecurity, 5G, next generation displays, battery technology, digital health, and insurtech, among others, to support shaping future technologies.

Liam Ahn

Principal

Robert Ashcraft

Investment Director

Ju Won Cha

Managing Partner

Jaeseok Cha

Investment Director

Russ Chaney

Principal

Myungseok Choi

Investment Director

Jay Chong

Vice President

Jeongheon Gwak

Investment Director

Uiseok Hwang

Investment Director

TaeWoo Jeon

Investment Director

Jihong Kim

Managing Director, Samsung Ventures America

Han Seong Kim

Investment Director

Junyeong Kim

Investment Director

Jongwook Kim

Investment Director

Minjoo Kim

Investment Director

Sung Eun Sarah Kim

Investment Director

Donghyun Kim

Investment Director

Eunji Ko

Investment Director

KyungNam Ko

Investment Director

JaeHo Koh

Investment Director

Helena Lee

Investment Director

Stan Lee

Investment Director

Jaemin Lee

Investment Director

Hyemin Lee

Senior Investment Manager

SunMin Lee

Investment Director

Claire Leurent

Managing Director

Sooyoun Lim

Investment Director

Michael Pachos

Managing Director

Wookyoung Park

Investment Director

Jinho Park

Investment Director

Junho Yang

Investment Director

Chanwoo Yang

Investment Director

Il Seok Yoon

Vice President

Jisu Yoon

Investment Director

Past deals in Storage Services

Volumez

Series A in 2024
Volumez is a provider of Data Infrastructure as a Service (DIaaS), offering a platform that integrates and orchestrates cloud resources to create customized data infrastructures suited to specific workload requirements. The platform is designed for data-intensive applications, ensuring performance, resilience, scalability, and cost efficiency across any cloud environment. With its innovative architecture and controller-less design, Volumez simplifies the deployment of storage solutions and dynamically adjusts to the evolving needs of businesses. This results in a predictable and composable DIaaS that delivers high performance and ultra-low latency while maintaining enterprise-grade data resilience at optimized costs. The company’s services are accessible through major cloud marketplaces, including AWS, Azure, and Oracle Cloud, facilitating easier management of both public and private cloud resources.

Arcfra

Funding Round in 2024
Arcfra is a technology company that specializes in simplifying on-premises enterprise cloud infrastructure. It offers a full-stack, software-defined platform that enables businesses to build robust, future-proof infrastructure from bare metal. The platform provides a range of services, including computing, storage, networking, security, backup, disaster recovery, and Kubernetes support, all within a single stack. It supports both virtual machines and containers, ensuring flexibility and adaptability for enterprises in the cloud and AI era.

SmartX

Series B in 2020
SmartX is a prominent provider of hyperconverged infrastructure and software-defined storage solutions. The company offers a fully software-driven platform that is designed to be scalable across all x86 appliances, catering to a diverse clientele that includes major cloud builders, telecommunications companies, and IoT firms in China. SmartX focuses on delivering infrastructure that is distributed, highly reliable, and infinitely scalable, allowing organizations to seamlessly transition from traditional hardware-defined systems to modern enterprise cloud environments. This innovative approach enables enterprises to efficiently manage their IT applications while adapting quickly to evolving technological demands.

Iguazio

Venture Round in 2019
Iguazio provides a data science platform enabling businesses to develop, deploy, and manage AI applications at scale. It facilitates real-time AI model execution, deployment across multi-cloud, on-premises, or edge environments, empowering enterprises to execute ambitious data-driven strategies.

Datera

Series C in 2018
Datera is a developer of a data management platform aimed at simplifying enterprise data storage. The company's innovative platform utilizes intelligent placement technology and applies machine learning to automate data orchestration and management. This enables organizations to efficiently handle data capacity and performance based on specific application requirements. Founded by experts in the Linux I/O storage stack, Datera partners with leading server-based infrastructure companies such as HPE, Intel, and Cisco, delivering solutions that achieve a total cost of ownership and operation that is significantly lower than traditional methods.

CNEX Labs

Series D in 2018
CNEX Labs develops storage semiconductor and software solutions, specializing in NVMe PCIe SSD controller ASICs that support LightNVM and Open-Channel operation with native NVMoE I/O connectivity. The controllers deliver high performance with low and predictable latency, scalability, and flexibility for software-defined storage, accelerating big data computing and analytics in cloud, hyperscale, and enterprise data centers. The company serves cloud and data center customers and partners with solid-state storage manufacturers to create differentiated storage solutions across form factors such as M.2, U.2, U.3, HHHL, and EDSFF. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Jose, California, CNEX maintains additional offices in Copenhagen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Tokyo.

Kazan Networks

Series A in 2016
Kazan Networks Corporation is a developer of computer hardware focused on enterprise storage and networking solutions. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Auburn, California, the company specializes in products such as iSCSI controllers, FC-to-SATA bridges, SAS controllers, and high-performance networking solutions. Kazan Networks offers a Customer Evaluation Kit that allows customers and partners to test the emerging NVMe over Fabrics standard. This fully functioning implementation is designed using FPGA technology to provide an optimal blend of performance and flexibility, facilitating easy plug-and-play connectivity between hosts and SSDs over Ethernet links. As of September 2019, Kazan Networks operates as a subsidiary of Western Digital Corporation.

Datera

Series B in 2015
Datera is a developer of a data management platform aimed at simplifying enterprise data storage. The company's innovative platform utilizes intelligent placement technology and applies machine learning to automate data orchestration and management. This enables organizations to efficiently handle data capacity and performance based on specific application requirements. Founded by experts in the Linux I/O storage stack, Datera partners with leading server-based infrastructure companies such as HPE, Intel, and Cisco, delivering solutions that achieve a total cost of ownership and operation that is significantly lower than traditional methods.

Pivot3

Series E in 2014
Pivot3 specializes in hyperconverged infrastructure and flash storage solutions. Founded with a vision to simplify data centers, Pivot3 unifies storage, compute, and network resources into easy-to-deploy systems that reduce costs, risks, and complexity. Today, they offer Dynamic Hyperconverged and PCIe Flash Arrays, ensuring high availability and optimal performance for mission-critical applications. With over 16,000 deployments across various industries worldwide, Pivot3 helps businesses lower total cost of ownership, ensure uninterrupted revenue generation, improve customer satisfaction, and maximize employee productivity.

CNEX Labs

Series A in 2014
CNEX Labs develops storage semiconductor and software solutions, specializing in NVMe PCIe SSD controller ASICs that support LightNVM and Open-Channel operation with native NVMoE I/O connectivity. The controllers deliver high performance with low and predictable latency, scalability, and flexibility for software-defined storage, accelerating big data computing and analytics in cloud, hyperscale, and enterprise data centers. The company serves cloud and data center customers and partners with solid-state storage manufacturers to create differentiated storage solutions across form factors such as M.2, U.2, U.3, HHHL, and EDSFF. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Jose, California, CNEX maintains additional offices in Copenhagen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Tokyo.

Giraffic

Series A in 2013
Giraffic, Inc. specializes in video-on-demand streaming acceleration technology, designed to enhance the delivery of high-definition content for online media providers. Established in 2008 and headquartered in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Giraffic's technology facilitates simultaneous data retrieval from multiple sources, effectively eliminating re-buffering pauses during video playback. This capability allows media companies, content distributors, and social networks to provide seamless access to HD videos and images, as well as support for games and software downloads. The company gained recognition for its Adaptive Video Acceleration (AVA) technology, which significantly improved streaming performance and was adopted by industry leaders like Samsung and Roku. Following the sale of its AVA technology, Giraffic shifted focus to the Data Cloud Storage sector with its Distributed Adaptive Storage (DASS) platform, offering innovative solutions for distributed and hybrid cloud environments, including a consumer backup application that emphasizes virtually unlimited storage capacity.

Pure Storage

Series E in 2013
Pure Storage is a U.S.-based enterprise data storage company that offers a storage platform designed to exploit flash memory. Its products accelerate random I/O–intensive workloads such as server and desktop virtualization, databases and OLTP, analytics, SQL and NoSQL, and cloud computing. The platform enables cost-effective deployment of flash across the data center, helping organizations scale within existing power and space constraints. Revenue arises from product hardware and embedded operating system software, as well as subscription services including Evergreen Storage, Pure as a Service, Cloud Block Store, Portworx, and professional services such as installation and implementation.

Datera

Series A in 2013
Datera is a developer of a data management platform aimed at simplifying enterprise data storage. The company's innovative platform utilizes intelligent placement technology and applies machine learning to automate data orchestration and management. This enables organizations to efficiently handle data capacity and performance based on specific application requirements. Founded by experts in the Linux I/O storage stack, Datera partners with leading server-based infrastructure companies such as HPE, Intel, and Cisco, delivering solutions that achieve a total cost of ownership and operation that is significantly lower than traditional methods.

SolidFire

Series C in 2013
SolidFire, LLC is a company that specializes in providing primary all-flash storage systems specifically designed for cloud service providers. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, SolidFire offers a scale-out storage platform that delivers high performance for diverse application workloads, including cloud orchestration, database management, and virtual desktop infrastructure. Its innovative architecture allows for multi-tenant cloud services, enabling service providers to ensure consistent performance across thousands of applications within a shared infrastructure. SolidFire's solutions are characterized by patented efficiency technologies that significantly reduce power, cooling, and capacity consumption, making it an attractive option for next-generation data centers. The company also maintains a global presence with additional locations in Australia, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. As of 2016, SolidFire operates as a subsidiary of NetApp, Inc.

Bitcasa

Series A in 2012
Bitcasa is a developer of a cloud-based storage service that simplifies file storage, access, and sharing for users and businesses. The company's platform allows for secure uploading and syncing of documents, photos, and other content across multiple devices, including those running on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, and the web. With its Cloud Storage Platform APIs and branded applications, Bitcasa provides plug-and-play solutions that cater to a diverse range of developers, OEMs, and service providers in over 140 countries. The company's technology is designed to enhance the management of data, enabling users to creatively utilize their file systems and storage capabilities.

Astute Networks

Series B in 2012
Astute Networks, Inc. is a manufacturer of network-based virtualization appliances, specializing in performance storage solutions for physical, virtual, and cloud computing environments. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company develops the VMware Ready Certified ViSX G3, which accelerates server and desktop virtualization as well as cloud computing infrastructures. Astute's offerings include solutions for Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint virtualization, along with support for Oracle, SAP, and SQL databases. The company’s patented DataPump Engine is designed to deliver high-performance iSCSI IOPS, ensuring sustained random I/O performance and effectively eliminating bottlenecks that can hinder virtual machine performance and user productivity. Astute Networks also maintains a strategic partnership with Veeam Software to enhance its service offerings.

Pivot3

Venture Round in 2012
Pivot3 specializes in hyperconverged infrastructure and flash storage solutions. Founded with a vision to simplify data centers, Pivot3 unifies storage, compute, and network resources into easy-to-deploy systems that reduce costs, risks, and complexity. Today, they offer Dynamic Hyperconverged and PCIe Flash Arrays, ensuring high availability and optimal performance for mission-critical applications. With over 16,000 deployments across various industries worldwide, Pivot3 helps businesses lower total cost of ownership, ensure uninterrupted revenue generation, improve customer satisfaction, and maximize employee productivity.

Pure Storage

Series C in 2011
Pure Storage is a U.S.-based enterprise data storage company that offers a storage platform designed to exploit flash memory. Its products accelerate random I/O–intensive workloads such as server and desktop virtualization, databases and OLTP, analytics, SQL and NoSQL, and cloud computing. The platform enables cost-effective deployment of flash across the data center, helping organizations scale within existing power and space constraints. Revenue arises from product hardware and embedded operating system software, as well as subscription services including Evergreen Storage, Pure as a Service, Cloud Block Store, Portworx, and professional services such as installation and implementation.

SiliconSystems

Series C in 2006
SiliconSystems is the world leader in industrial-grade solid-state storage solutions engineered exclusively for the high performance, high reliability, multi-year product lifecycle requirements of the Enterprise System OEM market. The company's patented and patent-pending SiliconDrive(TM) technology meets the rigorous demands of applications in the netcom, military, industrial, interactive kiosk and medical markets. SiliconSystems is based in Aliso Viejo, California.
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