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Why we’re closing Walnut
Talks about Startup, Venture Capital and Customer Experience
NK
Nick Kim
Partner at Upfront Ventures
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area
Overview
Nick Kim is a Partner at Upfront Ventures, where he has excelled in investments and board governance, particularly in the digital health and consumer internet sectors. With a background in executive management and financial analysis, he has successfully led investments in startups like OurSky and played key roles in various board memberships.
Nick Kim's career highlights include serving as a General Partner at Upfront Ventures and leading investments in strategic sectors such as digital health and consumer internet, showcasing his expertise in financial analysis and executive management.
Work Experience
General Partner
2022 - Current
Upfront Ventures is an early investor and long-term partner to founders. Founded in 1996 in Los Angeles with investors based in LA and San Francisco, Upfront backs teams across most technology sectors. Our team is focused on healthcare, fintech, B2B software, gaming, computer vision, AI, national infrastructure and hard tech.
Upfront Ventures is the venture capital firm focusing on early-stage technology companies.
Seed Investor, Board Member
2024
Physical AI for critical infrastructure companies
We leverage the capabilities of AI to transform physical entities into digital counterparts, driving business expansion and growth.
Raised $28,999,995.00 from Upfront Ventures.
Series B Investor
2024
Apex manufactures smallsat buses for commercial and government customers.
Raised $122,000,000.00 from Toyota Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Upfront Ventures, Ravelin Capital, XYZ Venture Capital, Avalon Capital Group, CRV, Point72 Ventures and Outsiders Fund.
Seed Investor, Board Member
2024
Enhanced geothermal power production systems
Seed Investor
2023
Low power processors and embedded software
Seed Investor, Board Member
2023
Automated manufacturing for defense and heavy industry
Seed Investor, Board Member
2023
Optical sensing and ground stations for space operations
Seed Investor, Board Member
2023
Vertical SaaS and market network for the travel industry
Tern Travel builds an integrated platform that connects the travel advisor to travelers and suppliers.
Raised $3,819,997.00.
Kauffman Fellow
2023
The Kauffman Fellows Program identifies and develops global leaders in VC while providing a structured curriculum, peer learning, executive coaching, and networking — all with a focus on giving back and one's responsibility as a leader in venture capital. With 800+ Fellows across 65 countries, Kauffman Fellows is the largest network of VCs and innovation leaders in the world. Since 1995, Kauffman Fellows have started hundreds of funds, raised and deployed hundreds of billions of dollars in capital, and helped pave the way for some of the world’s most groundbreaking companies. As a network, Kauffman Fellows represent over $290 billion in assets under management, have collectively raised over $790 billion dollars in capital, and have been responsible for over $8.5 trillion in exits to LPs.
Co-investment VC firm supporting the mission of the Kauffman Fellows
Principal
2018 - 2022
Investments in early-stage startups: AllVoices, Rx Redefined, Compa, Umbra, Radius Agent, Privacy Dynamics, Unblocked, Streamdal, Fama, Nostra, Keyway, Boosted Commerce and Pacaso
LA's first seed fund, backing entrepreneurs developing cutting-edge frontier technologies to address the world's most pressing problems.