BASS Ventures

BASS Ventures Research Firm Overview BASS Ventures (also known as BASS Investment) is a Seoul-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in May 2018. The firm operates with the tagline "미친꿈을 위대하게" ("Make Crazy Dreams Great") and uses musical metaphors throughout its brand — positioning itself as the "bassist" providing rhythm and support for startup "vocalists." Co-founded by Hyun-sung Shin (Daniel Shin), founder of Ticket Monster (Korea's first unicorn), and Jun-yeol Kang, former Chief Strategy Officer at Kakao, BASS Ventures blends deep entrepreneurial experience with platform-era corporate insights. Investment Thesis BASS Ventures backs early-stage founders with "crazy dreams" — ambitious, often contrarian bets on founders who show exceptional tenacity and leadership. The firm is thesis-agnostic by design, investing across consumer, enterprise, deep tech, fintech, fashion, and defense-tech. In 2025, the firm sharpened its focus on three verticals: AI software, physical AI (robotics and defense), and fashion & beauty brands. The firm is notable for being the first institutional capital in 87% of its 2025 new investments, reflecting a genuine pre-seed and early-seed mandate. BASS Ventures provides not just capital but also operational support, access to a global credit program (up to $350,000 per portfolio company via partnerships with Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, OpenAI, and Anthropic), talent resources, and connections for global expansion. Stage Focus BASS Ventures focuses primarily on: Pre-seed and Pre-A: The majority of investments; first institutional check in most cases Seed: Core stage, average round participation ~$2.4–3M Series A: Follow-on and selective new investments; average ~$5–6M They reserve roughly 50% of deployed capital for follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies. Check Size Based on investment data: Seed stage average check: approximately $2.4–3M Series A average check: approximately $5–6M Minimum: approximately $250,000 (pre-seed) Maximum: approximately $6,000,000 Geographic Focus Primarily South Korea, with significant and growing international exposure: South Korea: ~57% of portfolio (37+ investments) United States: ~17% (11+ investments; also operates a San Francisco hacker house) Southeast Asia: Singapore, Indonesia, and other markets (~7%) As of 2025: 43% of new investments in overseas portfolio companies Lead Tendency BASS Ventures typically leads or co-leads early rounds. In 2025, 87% of new investments were the first institutional funding into the company, indicating strong conviction and lead behavior at pre-seed and seed stage. Portfolio Highlights As of early 2026, BASS Ventures has invested in 112+ companies, with notable outcomes: Korea Credit Data — unicorn ($1B+ valuation), SME fintech via Cash Note bookkeeping app Reebonz — luxury goods platform, IPO in 2017 Hince — high-end Korean cosmetics brand (acquisition) Marqvision — AI-powered IP protection and brand enforcement (global) Teamblind — professional community platform (US market) Creatrip — travel activity platform for Korea-bound visitors TravelWallet — cross-border remittance platform Blueland — sustainable consumer goods (US) Index Robotics — robotics company Bone — physical AI and defense manufacturing (latest investment, Nov 2025) IQ Surgical — AI surgical co-pilot Love & Fury — AI virtual fashion fitting Athler — men's fashion platform (Series A, Feb 2025) Pensieve — AI education Solomon AI — US-based tax AI platform NCF Tech — EUV pellicle development (semiconductors) Team Yun-ho Shin (신윤호) — CEO/Representative: leads day-to-day operations Tae-yang Lee (이태양) — CEO/Representative: co-leads the firm Jun-yeol Kang (강준열) — Partner; co-founder; former Chief Strategy Officer at Kakao, one of Korea's largest tech platforms Hyun-sung Shin (신현성) — Partner; better known as Daniel Shin; co-founder and driving force behind Ticket Monster (Tmon), Korea's first unicorn; serial entrepreneur and ecosystem builder Hyung-jun Yang (양형준) — Director; leads deal execution Dong-eon Choi (최동언) — Senior Manager; investment operations Jung-bong Han (한정봉) — Senior Manager; investment operations Jae-gu An (안재구) — Investment Officer; deal sourcing and analysis The firm also has a growth partner for talent (Kim Ki-su) and several Entrepreneurs in Residence supporting portfolio companies. Recent Fund Activity Fund I: 28.6 billion KRW (~$22M) Fund II: 37.7 billion KRW (~$31M), closed February 2020; LPs include K Cube Holdings, Com2uS, and notable entrepreneurs Base Uptempo Venture Investment Association: New 2025 fund announced Patriot Fund 1: Joint venture fund with EO Studio focused on global ultra-early-stage startups TIPS Operator: Selected as a TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) operator by the Korean government; has produced companies selected for Global TIPS program Fund status as of 2025: Actively deploying across multiple vehicles. Decision Process BASS Ventures operates as a multi-GP partnership. Investment decisions are made collectively by the leadership team. The firm has a relatively lean team of ~15 people total. Founder Preferences BASS prioritizes: Founders with exceptional tenacity and ambition ("crazy dreamers") Strong leadership capability and vision First-time as well as repeat entrepreneurs Global-minded founders building for international markets Deep tech founders in AI, robotics, defense-tech, and biotech Anti-Thesis No specific exclusions documented, though the firm appears to avoid late-stage and growth equity. Key Co-investors Dunamu & Partners, DSC Investment, Smile Gate Investment, Atinum Investment, Kakao Ventures, Fast Ventures, Shorooq Partners, Hashed, Mashup Ventures.