Naver unveils $43 million fund to seek content for Snow

South Korean internet giant Naver Corp. unveiled Monday a $43 million fund with Japan's Softbank to invest in content and technology startups.

The investment fund will scout for new technology and talent for Naver's mobile services with global ambitions. Since an initial public offering of the Line mobile messenger app in July, in a rare global success story for the Asian mobile service from South Korea, Naver wants to spin off some services into an independent unit.

Chiefs at two of Naver's popular mobile services, Snow and Naver Webtoon, will join the investment fund as advisers. Softbank Ventures will run the fund in which Naver will contribute $34 million.

Kim Chang-wook, chief of Naver's wholly owned subsidiary Snow, said that he will seek technology companies that can add fun and twists to its video app. Akin to Snapchat, Snow has been one of the most popular social media apps among young Asians since it was launched in September last year.

The fund will support creators of videos and online cartoons using virtual reality or other technologies, said Lee Joonpyo, a director at Softbank Ventures Korea.

Lee said one of the companies that he is reviewing for a potential investment offers a high-level voice changer. Just as Snow offers creativity with face-changing software, the voice-changing technology will provide a new twist, he said.

The move is the latest attempt by the parent group of Line messenger app to seek early-stage startups outside the company to help the global expansion of Naver's various mobile services.

The popularity of its one-year-old Snow app among young users and the growth of its online cartoon application overseas have been encouraging to the South Korean internet group. But Naver is trying to find its niche and appeal to global audiences as it struggles with its lesser-known reputation compared to Google's YouTube or Facebook.

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