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.