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"It is impossible to say that luck plays no role in investment. However, there must be prepared criteria and a list before that luck arrives."
This was the statement of Han In-soo, CEO of Laplace Partners, which drew industry attention by achieving a 10x return on its first fund in the bio sector, known for its high barriers to entry.
He previously handled major enterprise clients in the server and storage division at Intel and was an early member of D2 Startup Factory (D2SF), Naver’s startup incubation and investment organization. Earlier, at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), he was responsible for venture capital investments and business development, gaining experience across technology, business, and investment fields.
Based on this background, he established the venture capital firm Laplace Partners in December 2020. The first fund he launched was "Laplace Venture Investment Fund No. 1." This fund achieved a return of approximately 10.2 times through biotech investments last year. Han In-soo stated regarding this achievement: "It was a result that reaffirmed the validity of our long-accumulated bio investment criteria even in the current market."
Tracing his investment career back, his first investment experience began at Infinite Technology Investment around 2000. He then worked at KB Venture Capital until 2004 before moving to Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. During his tenure at Samsung, he participated in a task force (TF) reviewing the bio business, which later became the starting point for the establishment of Samsung BioLogics.
He subsequently took charge of the server technology division at Intel, dealing with global major clients, before leaving Intel in 2014. However, his plan to take a brief break did not last long. Song Chang-hyun, former CTO and then-current CTO of Naver, personally reached out to him with an offer: "Would you like to work together on technology-related projects?"
Having established connections with Naver through server infrastructure collaboration during his time at Intel, he was recognized as a partner who understands both technology and organizations. In fact, he organized a series of meetings by bringing Intel headquarters executives and server/big data experts to the U.S. and inviting various technical teams from Naver. Through these connections and efforts, he joined Naver Labs.
Among his experiences at Naver, Han In-soo highlighted D2SF as the most memorable. At a time when Naver was actively launching startup investments and incubation programs, he directly participated in the initial design and operation of this organization. This was the result of on-the-ground deliberations on how an investment organization within a large corporation should be established.
A representative investment success of Laplace Partners is "Jitujibi Bio." Jitujibi Bio is a biotech company possessing long-term sustained drug delivery technology. Han In-soo explained: "It is a company that developed technology to make injections, which usually need frequent administration, effective for a longer period after a single dose. By packaging the medication to release slowly in the body, they reduced weekly injections to once every month or even several months." He added that this is an attractive technology that pharmaceutical companies would covet in fields where dosing frequency is critical, such as obesity treatments.
Laplace Partners' investment criteria in the bio sector are clear. First, whether the company has actual experience with technology transfer from Navy Headquarters. Second, whether it holds improved patents that would attract interest from major pharmaceutical companies. Jitujibi Bio possessed past licensing-out experience and a solid patent portfolio, ultimately achieving an investment return of approximately 10.2 times through its initial public offering (IPO).
The areas Laplace Partners will focus on in 2026 are medical devices closely connected to research sites, AI startups, and early-stage overseas investments. Particularly in the medical device sector, they plan to pay close attention to technologies that improve performance through AI or enable diagnoses and procedures previously considered impossible.
Another investment axis is "research institute companies." To this end, Laplace Partners has partnered with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). In this collaboration, ETRI Holdings invests in the early stages of spin-off companies from research institutes, and once these companies establish themselves in the market and enter the growth phase, Laplace Partners steps in as a scale-up investor.
In overseas investments, specialized personnel stationed in Boston, U.S., play a key role. They are responsible for "deal sourcing," proactively identifying promising companies. One overseas investment has already been executed: a company possessing obesity treatment technology that targets only specific body parts rather than the entire body.
Han In-soo stated: "This year, we will focus investments on companies that innovate medical devices and clinical sites based on AI. We also plan to actively engage in early-stage overseas investments."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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