Andreessen Horowitz has opened an office in Seoul, designating South Korea as its strategic base for expansion across Asia, with crypto set to be the firm's initial area of focus, according to a report by Chosun.
The Silicon Valley firm manages roughly $100 billion in assets and selected South Korea for its strength across artificial intelligence, manufacturing, defense, crypto, content, and consumer products, as well as the country's availability of skilled talent and technology adoption rates. The Seoul office will support portfolio companies with hiring, business development, policy engagement, media outreach, and partner networks, with crypto-related work taking priority before activities extend into other sectors.
Leading the office is Park Sung-mo, a16z Crypto's Asia-Pacific go-to-market lead, who was appointed when the firm's Asia expansion plans were announced in December. Park previously worked at Naver and the Monad Foundation. He has said the firm's focus is on helping portfolio companies grow and enter new markets, not capital provision alone.
The opening follows a period of increased activity from a16z in the region and in financial infrastructure more broadly. Earlier this month, a16z Crypto invested $100 million as part of a $355 million funding round for Digital Asset Holdings, the company behind Canton Network. Other participants in that round included Citadel Securities, Apollo, BNP Paribas, HSBC, CME Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Optiver, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Digital Asset said the funding will support ecosystem growth, partnerships, and acquisitions, with Canton Network reported to have supported more than $6 trillion in tokenized issuance.
In May, a16z also led a $250 million funding round for Exa Labs, an AI search infrastructure startup valued at $2.2 billion.
The firm said it intends to use Seoul as a gateway for broader expansion across Asia, creating connections between its portfolio companies and local businesses across the region.
