[Weekly M&A] AI & Robot Investment Fever Continues Amid Big Deals... Financial Market Spurs Discovery of Future Growth Engines

[Weekly Pitch: VC & M&A] This is the core briefing on venture investments and M&As for this week presented by News Epoch. (2026.08.21 ~ 2026.08.28)

Over the past week, the domestic financial market was revitalized with a series of large-scale investment and M&A news. In particular, blockbuster deals such as Samsung Biologics' large-scale paid-in capital increase and Meta's push to issue 1 trillion won worth of Korean Won bonds drew the market's attention. The investment fever in promising future technology sectors, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, has not cooled down. Companies actively set out to expand their portfolios and secure new growth engines.

■ Overwhelming Big Deals and the Race to Secure Future Growth Engines

The most notable news in the market this week is the decision of Samsung Biologics to proceed with a 3 trillion won paid-in capital increase. Samsung Biologics will use 2.7062 trillion won of the raised funds to acquire Polypeptide Group, and 294.8 billion won to expand its 2nd Bio Campus. This is interpreted as a strategy to expand its portfolio into the peptide sector and significantly increase its antibody drug production capacity to 1,385,000L. Global big tech company Meta is also pushing to issue 1 trillion won worth of Korean Won bonds in South Korea. This is a move to raise large-scale funds necessary for the AI development competition, showing a cross-section of the 'all-out AI war' spreading worldwide. Alongside this, AI startup Wrtn Technologies attracted a massive investment of 100 billion won in its Series C round, proving once again the heated interest in the AI market.

Furthermore, lifestyle shopping enterprise NS Shopping set out to strengthen its distribution competitiveness by investing an additional 10 billion won into Homeplus Express. NS Shopping's total investment has increased to 130 billion won. Non-face-to-face financial platform Korbit raised 50 billion won privately, and knowledge sharing platform Liner also attracted a 50 billion won investment in its Series C round, respectively increasing their valuations. Comprehensive unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer PRENEU is smoothly proceeding with its Series D funding, which is expected to surpass the 15 billion won raised in its Series C round last year.

■ AI, Robotics, and Semiconductors: Promising Technology Sectors Leading the Market

AI, robotics, and semiconductors remained key topics in the market. In the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang mentioned the self-developed chips of OpenAI and Anthropic, implying that a competitive landscape is forming in the AI chip market. In addition, market expectations heightened as Wall Street experts evaluated that the $30 trillion potential revenue opportunity presented by Anthropic in its prospectus ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) is not unrealistic. Domestically, Motif Technologies left a sense of disappointment by being eliminated in the second evaluation round of its independent AI foundation model project, but the competition for AI technology development is expected to continue.

In the robotics sector, LG Electronics and Bluepoint Partners bet on growth potential by executing a seed investment in robotics technology company Machine Flow, and a Series A investment in Atomer. Savvy Robotics also expanded the base of the robotics industry by securing Pre-A funding from Korea Investment Accelerator. In the semiconductor market, major companies such as Samsung Electronics and TLB led stock price increases, driven by growing global demand and indirect benefits from power regulations. Bank of America (BofA) warned of a potential short-term correction in the semiconductor sector, but diagnosed that buying opportunities could emerge for major semiconductor stocks such as NVIDIA and Micron Technology.

■ M&A, Restructuring, and Other Notable Deals

In the M&A market, KG Group is nearing deal closing as it received final approval from the Fair Trade Commission for the acquisition of South Korea's largest directly operated used car platform K Car. With this, K Car is scheduled to be officially incorporated into KG Group. Additionally, in the education sector, STIC Investments set out to expand its business by acquiring Kids Note. Mirae Asset Securities kick-started its attack on the global market by considering the acquisition of a Japanese securities firm. Meanwhile, Datdatdat, the developer of the social metaverse platform 'Olobo', which had accumulated 9.2 billion won in investments, was declared bankrupt eight years after its establishment due to deteriorating profitability and capital impairment, showcasing the harsh reality of the startup market.

News related to private equity funds (PEFs) also continued. In the legal dispute surrounding the dismissal of Bodyfriend's GP, Hahn & Brothers lost the lawsuit it filed against Stonebridge seeking to invalidate the resolution of the general meeting of members, and controversy arose as some PEF-owned restaurant businesses proceeded with large-scale dividend recoveries despite running a deficit. Aside from this, in the agricultural and bio sectors, Added Biome secured Series A funding, while fintech security company Infinite Block and AI content generation company Intellectus each secured Pre-A investments to seek growth. Region-based simple payment service Bayless also attracted a 5.5 billion won investment. The Financial Services Commission opened the path for new market entry by allowing insurance companies' nursing care subsidiaries to manufacture and distribute senior food.

[Epoch Point]

The market this week shows that companies are continuing their bold investments to secure key future growth engines, as seen in Samsung Biologics' mega deal and Meta's large-scale fundraising. The investment fever in the AI and robotics sectors reflects the market's strong expectations for technological innovation, and this trend is expected to continue for the time being. However, as seen in the startup bankruptcy case, the process of separating the wheat from the chaff in the investment market will further intensify.