April 26, 2024

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Characters created by Galaxy Corp.

Shinhan Financial Group said Oct. 6 that it has decided to invest 18 billion won ($15.1 million) into three startups that offer cutting-edge technologies, as part of its bigger plan to boost the group’s digital capabilities.

The startups that attracted the funding include Galaxy Corp., which owns the intellectual property rights to virtual characters for metaverse platforms, and artificial intelligence technology-based Xinapse.

Shinhan plans to collaborate with the firms to enhance engagement with future customers and invigorate its digital services.

It also made an investment in Balaan, an e-commerce platform for luxury goods, in a bid to increase online traffic and transaction volume for key platforms of affiliates, such as Shinhan Bank’s digital banking platform Shinhan SOL and Shinhan Card’s new mobile app Shinhan pLay.

The exact amounts invested in each startup were not disclosed.

The 18 billion won came from a 300 billion won fund formed by major group affiliates in April.

Through the group’s first digital strategic investment fund, Shinhan seeks to embrace digital disruption and leverage these changes.

"We plan to continue making strategic digital investments to strengthen our response to big tech and leap forward as a leading digital platform company,” the firm said in a statement.

Since April, Shinhan has invested 140 billion won into companies in nonfinancial sectors. Its portfolio firms include delivery agency service provider Insung Data and autonomous transportation service startup 42dot.
By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)