Baek Kyoum Kim is a venture capitalist and former software engineer who serves as a General Partner at HASHED, a global Web3 venture capital fund. With a background in robotics and computer engineering, he previously worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS) before transitioning to venture capital, where he focuses on investments in Web3 infrastructure, gaming, and the metaverse. ^{[1] [2]}

Early Life

From a young age, Kim demonstrated a strong interest in technology and development, becoming an active participant in hackathons. During his time at Carnegie Mellon University, he identified a gap in support for undergraduate entrepreneurship and took a proactive role in addressing it. Alongside a professor, he co-founded the "Innovation Scholar Fellowship," a program designed to provide grants, mentorship, and direct exposure to the Silicon Valley ecosystem for promising student founders.

It was through this fellowship that Kim had his first encounter with cryptocurrency. During a trip to Silicon Valley as part of the program, he attended a presentation by Adam Draper, founder of Boost VC, who spoke at length about Bitcoin. At the time, during his sophomore or junior year, Kim was skeptical of the technology, initially dismissing it as "something really odd." ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Baek Kyoum Kim is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where he studied robotics and computer engineering. His professional profiles also indicate an affiliation with the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, although specific details regarding a degree or program of study are not publicly specified. During his undergraduate studies, he was a key figure in establishing the university's Innovation Scholar Fellowship, an initiative aimed at cultivating entrepreneurial talent among students. ^{[1] [3] [7]}

Career

After graduating from Carnegie Mellon, Kim entered the field of entrepreneurship by founding a last-mile logistics startup. He led the company for approximately a year and a half before it ceased operations. Following this venture, he transitioned into a corporate technology role, joining Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a software engineer from 2016 to 2018. At AWS, his work was concentrated in the specialized fields of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Robotics, which served as a basis for later work with blockchain technology.

While employed at AWS, Kim cultivated a deep interest in the emerging cryptocurrency space. He dedicated his personal time, from evening until midnight, to intensive self-study, reading white papers at the University of Washington library with his roommate. This period of research led him to connect with the partners at HASHED, a South Korea-based, crypto-native venture fund. He found common ground with the firm's leadership, including Simon Kim, who shared a similar background as engineers and founders. Attracted by their vision to build a structured fund and the passionate community surrounding it, Kim made the decision to move to Seoul and join HASHED as an investor in 2018.

Kim currently serves as a General Partner at HASHED, a multi-billion dollar venture fund with offices in Seoul, Singapore, San Francisco, and Abu Dhabi. In his role, he is responsible for identifying and supporting early-stage blockchain projects globally, with a stated mission of accelerating the mass adoption of Web3. HASHED's ecosystem includes several related entities, such as UNOPND, a Web3 venture and gaming studio; KODA, a major digital asset custodian in Korea; Factomind, a digital asset management company; and Hashed Open Research, a digital assets policy think tank. ^{[2] [1] [3] [4] [5] [7] [8]}

Investment Philosophy

Kim advocates for a "crypto-native" model of venture capital that extends beyond providing capital. He believes that holding a significant token ownership stake in a network carries the responsibility of active participation. In an interview, he stated, "Investing in tokens and investing in networks is really the ticket to becoming a major participant in those networks... if you are just holding onto it without doing anything and just waiting for the appreciation, that's just the web2 model of VC."

This philosophy is implemented through three main pillars of active participation:

1. Validator Operations: HASHED was one of the first venture funds to run its own validator nodes for its portfolio companies, a practice it started around 2018-2019. Kim, leveraging his software engineering background from AWS, was personally involved in the technical aspects of these operations, including participating in testnet calls.
2. Protocol Governance: The firm actively participates in the governance of the protocols it invests in. This involvement allows HASHED to help shape the strategic direction and tokenomics of the networks.
3. Liquidity Provisioning: HASHED utilizes its capital to bootstrap liquidity for its portfolio projects at launch. This strategy is intended to create a more stable and secure environment for early users of new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

Kim's investment thesis focuses primarily on Web3 infrastructure, gaming, and the metaverse. He identifies gaming and the metaverse as key channels for mainstream user adoption, noting the similarities between their community dynamics and those found in crypto, such as DAOs operating on Discord. When advising newcomers to the industry, Kim emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience, recommending that the first step is to become a "power user" of crypto applications. He believes the lines between user, builder, and investor are blurred in Web3 and that direct engagement is the best way to develop unique insights. ^[1]

Notable Investments and Projects

As a General Partner at HASHED, Kim has been involved in early-stage investments in numerous projects across the Web3 landscape.

• Axie Infinity: HASHED made its first gaming investment in Axie Infinity in 2018 after meeting the team in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The firm provided the project's first seed-round check and served as an advisor. In June 2019, HASHED hosted the Axie Infinity team at an event in Seoul, demonstrating their early and close partnership.
• The Sandbox: The project was invited to participate in HASHED's gaming accelerator, Hashed Labs. Subsequently, HASHED led its seed investment round and became an advisor to the company.
• UNOPND: In October 2021, Kim announced the official launch of UNOPND, a startup studio powered by HASHED. The initiative involved the acquisition of two gaming studios in Asia to form a team of over 30 designers, engineers, and community builders. The studio's mandate is to build games and metaverse applications on top of HASHED's portfolio companies, with Terra being cited as an early example.
• Everyrealm: An investment made in early 2022, Kim described the company's role as a "real estate developer in the metaverse." He highlighted its function in building content and experiences on digital land across various platforms, thereby adding a content layer to what was previously a speculative asset class. HASHED was also an early investor in Republic, the parent company of Everyrealm.
• Terra Ecosystem: Kim was a public and early supporter of the Terra blockchain. He actively worked to facilitate partnerships for the ecosystem, announcing in November 2021 that he was involved in bringing the major Korean gaming publisher Gameville to build on Terra.
• Secret Network: In November 2021, Kim identified HASHED as a seed investor in Secret Network, noting that the firm's involvement dated back to 2018.

Other notable investments credited to Kim include foundational infrastructure projects such as ZKSync and Aptos, as well as gaming and NFT companies like Mythical Games and Yuga Labs. ^{[2] [1] [6]}

Other Activities and Affiliations

In addition to his primary role at HASHED, Kim is engaged in various activities within the broader technology and venture capital communities. He has served as a mentor for the Carnegie Mellon University Innovation Scholar Program since 2016. Since 2019, he has also contributed as an accelerator mentor and judge for both ConsenSys Mesh and the global hackathon series ETHGlobal. Furthermore, Kim acts as a Limited Partner (LP) in several other venture capital funds, including The Spartan Group, Alliance DAO, Primer Sazze Partners, Krew Capital, and the HF0 residency program. ^[3]

Terra Ecosystem Collapse

As a prominent and vocal early supporter of the Terra ecosystem, Kim took on a public-facing role during its dramatic collapse in May 2022. On May 11, 2022, he posted a public statement expressing his personal reaction to the crisis. He wrote, "Devastated As an early supporter of Terra, I am very sorry to my friends in the community Builders in Terra ecosystem are my best friends w/ amazing talent, love and passion in this space I am personally reaching out to many of you Please let me know, I am here for you."

In a subsequent post, he noted that he had been "fighting in the war-room the past 48h" in an attempt to manage the situation. Despite the outcome, he reaffirmed his conviction in the underlying principles of the technology, stating, "our vision in the decentralized money is still true The tech and the community are still here. We will rebuild up this ecosystem together." ^[6]

Interviews

Decrypt Asia #01

On April 10, 2019, Baek Kyoum Kim was interviewed on the "Decrypt Asia" YouTube channel during the Deconomy 2019 conference in Seoul, South Korea. The discussion, hosted by John Riggins of BTC Media, focused on Kim’s professional background, his involvement with Hashed, and his views on blockchain and cryptocurrency developments.

In the interview, Kim described his career transition from engineering at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he worked on IoT and cloud technologies, to investment in the cryptocurrency sector. He stated that technical issues he encountered at AWS, particularly related to infrastructure and security, contributed to his interest in blockchain.

Kim outlined the formation of Hashed, explaining that it was established by partners with engineering backgrounds who had initially been active as angel investors before creating a venture fund. He also described the firm’s investment strategies in different regions, noting variations between its activities in Asia and the United States.

The conversation addressed Hashed’s involvement in blockchain initiatives in South Korea, including projects linked to Kakao’s subsidiary GroundX and its platform Klaytn, as well as Line’s blockchain project, Link. According to Kim, Hashed’s participation extended to providing technical and strategic input in addition to financial support.

At the time of the interview, Kim stated that Hashed was operating primarily with proprietary capital but was considering external fundraising to support longer-term investments. He also commented on the development of the blockchain industry, suggesting that it was becoming increasingly divided between decentralized infrastructure projects and enterprise-oriented applications. He noted that projects positioned between these two approaches often faced structural challenges and argued that a clear strategic orientation was important for new participants. ^[9]

Grace Gong Interview #02

On February 24, 2022, Baek Kyoum Kim appeared on the YouTube channel "Grace Gong" in an interview titled “How Baek Kim Entered the Space of Crypto | Interview with Baek Kim General Partner at Hashed.”

During the conversation, Kim outlined his professional path leading to the crypto sector. He explained that his academic background in robotics and his early career at Amazon Web Services provided the foundation for his later interest in blockchain. According to Kim, the incentive models and coordination methods found in blockchain systems were central to his decision to move from traditional technology roles into venture capital.

Kim described his perspective on how venture investment in crypto differs from conventional approaches. He stated that Web3 projects rely heavily on community participation and that the relationship between founders and their communities is a critical factor for success. In his view, investors in this field often take an active role in projects, which can include involvement in technical development, validator activities, or liquidity support.

He also discussed the role of regional dynamics in adoption, emphasizing that markets in Asia and other emerging economies are important drivers of blockchain use. Gaming and esports, according to Kim, have served as prominent entry points for users in these regions. He added that Hashed adopts an investment strategy that seeks to remain flexible and closely engaged with project founders, reflecting the fast pace of change in the industry.

In closing, Kim noted the importance of continuous learning and direct engagement with founders as ways to keep pace with developments in the sector. He also commented that individuals without technical backgrounds may still participate in Web3 by gaining experience as active users of platforms and communities. ^[10]