Kakao Ventures doubled down on its U.S. expansion strategy with undisclosed seed investments in Oligo Space and Tzafon, two startups operating in highly competitive deep tech markets where promises often exceed delivery timelines.
The Korean venture capital firm’s bet on Oligo Space comes as the satellite manufacturing sector faces mounting pressure to reduce costs and accelerate deployment. The Hawthorne-based startup claims its AI-driven design automation can slash development time to one-third and costs to one-fifth of traditional methods, though such efficiency gains remain unproven at scale.
Oligo’s approach centers on optimizing spacecraft around mission payloads rather than adapting equipment to existing carriers. The company, founded in 2023 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory alumni, plans operational missions by October but faces fierce competition from established aerospace contractors and well-funded rivals like Quindar.
Tzafon presents a different challenge, targeting the nascent multi-AI agent systems market where technical complexity often outpaces commercial viability. The San Francisco and Tel Aviv-based company, led by serial entrepreneur Noah El, recently secured $4 million in separate pre-seed funding and focuses on Rust-based infrastructure for agent collaboration.
Both investments reflect Kakao Ventures’ effort to establish independent deal flow beyond its Korean home market, where the company has backed over 240 startups. However, the venture firm’s track record in identifying breakout U.S. technologies remains largely untested.
