Saemin Ahn is a partner at 500 Global for its Southeast Asia growth initiatives. Prior to 500 Global, Saemin was Founding Managing Partner of Rakuten Ventures, Rakuten Group’s US$285 million corporate VC fund, from 2013 to 2022. He has led investments in over 25 tech companies, including GoTo Group (IDX: GOTO), Carousell, Epic! (acquired by Byju’s), Coda Payments, ViSenze, Algorithmia, and Polymorph (acquired by Walmart) while advising them on their product roadmap and growth strategy. Along with his VC practice, Saemin managed a diverse range of instruments, including public equities, debt and derivatives. He has deep expertise in advising companies on public listings and acquisitions. Saemin has also held management roles at Google in Korea and Singapore.Saemin takes a hands-on approach in helping founders and management teams build durable strategies by taking into account competitive dynamics and relevant, timely macroeconomic trends. He shares his investing and company-building insights on international and regional media platforms.

Regina Zurutuza is a Partner at 500 Global Latam, where she helps oversee the investment process and portfolio management of the firm in Latin America. Regina joined the firm in 2019. She has evaluated over 900 startups in her 3.5 years as Partner at 500 Global and has done over 120 deals in LATAM. Before 500, Regina was an early employee at Bright, a solar energy startup, and holds a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from McGill University.