Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has officially opened a new office in Seoul, designating South Korea as its strategic hub for expansion across Asia, with cryptocurrency initiatives set to take priority in the early stages.
The move, which follows a December 2025 announcement of plans to enter the region, positions a16z to help its portfolio companies penetrate South Korea's booming crypto market, where nearly one in three adults owns digital assets — a participation rate that surpasses local stock-market ownership. South Korea is also the second-largest crypto market globally by trading activity.
Leading the Seoul office is Park Sung-mo, a16z Crypto’s Asia-Pacific go-to-market lead, who previously held roles at Naver, the Monad Foundation, and Polygon Labs. Park emphasized that the firm’s strategy goes beyond capital provision, focusing on actively helping portfolio companies grow and enter new markets through hiring support, business development, policy engagement, media outreach, and partner networks. While the office will initially concentrate on crypto, a16z plans to broaden its scope into other sectors such as AI, manufacturing, defense, and content over time.
South Korea’s attractiveness is bolstered by its skilled technical workforce, rapid adoption of new technologies, and the upcoming Digital Asset Basic Act, which will require foreign stablecoin issuers to maintain domestic branches for local token distribution. By establishing a physical presence now, a16z positions itself and its portfolio companies for early compliance.
a16z’s expansion comes amid a wave of crypto-focused activity in South Korea. In recent months, Tether filed seven trademark applications with the country’s intellectual property office, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire met with major financial groups, Ripple signed pilot programs with KBank, and Cosmos Labs acquired the Mintscan blockchain explorer while setting up a Seoul subsidiary.
The Seoul office will not require a license nor launch a product directly; instead, it serves as go-to-market infrastructure enabling a16z-backed protocols, infrastructure, and applications to connect with Korean users and partners. The firm has also been active in AI and tokenized finance—leading a $250 million round for Exa Labs and investing $100 million in Digital Asset Holdings’ $355 million funding round for the Canton Network, a blockchain platform for institutional tokenized assets that claims support for over $6 trillion in issuance.
