SK hynix Launches Silicon Valley Venture Arm to Back AI Startups
SK hynix launched SK hynix Ventures in Silicon Valley, widening investment from chips to AI computing, data centers and optical interconnects.
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Startup ecosystem, venture capital, and entrepreneurship news. Covers funding rounds, new ventures, tech innovation, and the Korean startup landscape.
Oasis Opens Store on Toss Shopping, Draws 30 Billion Won Investment
Oasis opened a dedicated section on Toss Shopping and decided on a 30 billion won share issue targeting Toss, valuing it at 1.3 trillion won.
Simacro Targets Global Market With AI Digital Twin, Wins CJ and Samsung C&T
Simacro is taking its AI-based digital twin solution global after signing CJ CheilJedang and Samsung C&T as customers.
Korea Cuts Patent Reviews for AI Data Center, Physical AI to One Month
Korea will cut patent examination waits to one month for young founders' startups and AI data center and physical AI patents from November.
Early-Stage Share of Korean VC Funding Falls to 14% From 63%
Early-stage companies now take just 14.1% of Korean venture capital investment, down from 63.5% two decades ago, as funding shifts to later-stage firms.
Laforet Revives SK Stoa Deal With Restructured Terms
Laforet reapplied for regulatory approval to acquire SK Stoa after restructuring its deal with SK Telecom and funding the purchase entirely with equity.
U.S. AI Startups Face Scrutiny Over Annualized Revenue Claims
Silicon Valley AI startups face scrutiny over annualized revenue methods, as OpenAI and Anthropic apply different standards ahead of IPOs.
Korea to Screen Big Firms' Startup Talent Raids as Mergers
Korea's Fair Trade Commission will bring conglomerates' acqui-hire deals under merger review, treating organized talent moves as business transfers.
Hancom Ties Up With FuriosaAI to Target Enterprise, Public AI Market
Hancom signed an MOU with FuriosaAI and Hancom Innostream to jointly develop an AX appliance for enterprise and public-sector AI.
Robotis Expands Into Humanoid Software, Commits 88.7 Billion Won
Robotis is expanding from humanoid hardware into software, with 88.7 billion won from a stake sale partly funding its robotics subsidiary.
Sourcing China Guides Korean Firms From Factory Search to Customs
Sourcing China supports the entire China sourcing process, while Korea Alps adopts AI vision inspection and Samsung unveils an AI promoter at IFA 2026.
OpenAI Releases GPT-6 Astra, Scoring 99.9% on AGI Benchmark
OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, scoring 99.9% on the ARC-AGI-3 benchmark, but the model drew the company's first "Critical" security rating.
Korea Targets 50% Jump in Small-Business Exports With 'K-Tech' Push
Korea will lift small-business exports to $180 billion by 2030, backing 500 "K-Tech" firms as it moves beyond K-beauty into industrial goods and tech…
Musinsa Standard Sales in Japan Jump Sevenfold
Musinsa Standard's Japan sales rose sevenfold in the first half, making it a gateway brand for K-fashion among Japanese shoppers.
AI Now Reads Blueprints: Searchdog Cuts Design Review Time 70%
Startup Searchdog says its AI can cut construction design and build review time by 70%, and is targeting U.S. entry in the second half.
Brokerages Bet 1 Trillion Won on Secondary Venture Deals
Korea's securities industry will invest up to 1 trillion won in venture secondary deals over three years to broaden exit routes beyond IPOs.
"Read the Winds in Washington First," Analyst Tells Korean Startups Eyeing U.S.
Heritage Foundation's Anthony Kim urged Korean startups entering the U.S.
SK Telecom, Kakao, KT Win Korea's Free AI Service Project
Korea picked SK Telecom, Kakao and KT consortiums to run the free "AI for All" service, with a full launch planned this year.
AI Wins Rate Cuts for Borrowers, Banksalad Reports 9.3 Million Won Saved
Banksalad's AI agent files interest rate cut requests for borrowers, with one customer saving 9.3 million won a year.
Wrtn Tops $1B Valuation as Overseas Sales Pass Domestic
Wrtn Technologies raised 100 billion won at a 1.4 trillion won valuation, becoming Korea's first AI service unicorn as overseas revenue passed domestic…
Cacao Brand Revives Jeju Village as 19 Shops Rally Around Sehwa-ri
A Jeju local company, Kakao Family, is reviving Sehwa-ri village through its cacao brand Cocoha, with 19 shops joining a funding campaign.
AI Patrol Robot Guards Deoksugung, Spots Fire From 3 Meters in Under 5 Seconds
Neubility's AI patrol robot "Sunra-bot" began a fire-detection demonstration at Deoksugung Palace, spotting heat from 3 meters and alerting in under 5…
Same Ingredient, Different Raw Materials: K-Beauty Competes on Ingredient Quality
Beauty-tech startup Witten Company is competing on raw material quality in Korea's ingredient-focused cosmetics market, gathering over 60,000 reviews.
Anthropic Eyes $2 Trillion IPO to Top SpaceX Record
Anthropic plans a $2 trillion IPO this month, aiming to surpass SpaceX's record fundraising on the back of surging enterprise revenue.
North Chungcheong to Build 707 Billion Won Startup Hub
North Chungcheong Province will invest 707.2 billion won by 2030 to build a "second Pangyo Valley" startup ecosystem in Osong.
Korea's H1 Venture Investment Jumps 54% as AI, Bio Draw Capital
Korea's new venture investment hit a record 8.9 trillion won in the first half of 2026, up 54.3%, led by AI, chips and bio.
Upstage, SKT and LG Advance in Korea's Homegrown AI Contest
Upstage, SK Telecom and LG advanced in Korea's homegrown AI foundation model contest, where real-world usability decided the winners.
"Taming Seafood Prices": AI Predicts Rates and Flags Supply Anomalies
A Korean startup uses AI to forecast opaque seafood prices, while smaller firms target niche smart glasses markets and a report warns Korea lacks optical…
DeepSeek Raises API Prices Up to 12-Fold as China's AI Race Turns to Profit
DeepSeek raised API fees up to 12-fold as China's AI firms shift from ultra-low pricing to profit, while SK's Chey Tae-won warned of the worst memory…
Anthropic IPO May Top SpaceX With $2 Trillion Valuation
Some Anthropic investors expect a valuation above $2 trillion at its October IPO, topping SpaceX, as annualized revenue is projected to reach $100…
AI-Powered Fortune-Telling Apps Surge, Reaching 1 Billion Won in Monthly Sales
AI-powered fortune-telling apps are booming in Korea, with one developer's monthly sales reaching 1 billion won, while Kurly posts record Q2 profit and…
KINTEX Opens Its Halls to AI, Robotics Startups for Live Trials
KINTEX has begun on-site trials with three AI and robotics startups, testing fire detection, booth-marking robots and edge-AI safety tools at its real…
K-Fashion Wins Over Japan as Musinsa Sales Jump 182%
K-fashion platforms are surging in Japan, with Musinsa's Global Store sales up 182% year-on-year in the second quarter as brands push into offline stores…
Taste-Matched Travel Rises: Platform Jigu Playground Wins Over Younger Koreans
Travel platform Jigu Playground draws Koreans in their 20s and 30s with themed trips built from taste data, as a business group backs 100 startups and…
Korea Shifts Local Commerce Strategy: Nurturing Anchor Firms Over Subsidies
Korea shifts local commerce policy from subsidies to nurturing anchor firms like Sungsimdang and Terarosa, aiming for 10,000 local entrepreneurs and 1,000 local companies annually by 2030.
Kakao's First AI Play Is Food Delivery, Teaming Up with Coupang Eats
Kakao picks food delivery as its first AI vertical, partnering with Coupang Eats to bring ordering to KakaoTalk, while Meta joins the AI coding race and Google reorganizes DeepMind.
Pablo Air Targets Defense, Aviation Markets with Drone Swarm Technology
Pablo Air, holding Korea's only drone swarm control technology, is expanding into defense and aircraft inspection markets and plans another IPO attempt after raising 112.5 billion won.
Korean Self-Driving Vehicles Land First UAE Export Deal Worth 11 Billion Won
Autonomous a2z signed an 11 billion won deal to export 19 self-driving vehicles to UAE's Space42, replacing Chinese-made vehicles in the TXAI autonomous service.
US Bans Chinese Robot Imports, Boosting K-Humanoid Prospects
The US FCC banned imports of Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots, boosting Korean component makers Halla Cast, SL, and Samhyun as they enter the global robot market.
AI Now Runs the Factory: 'Autonomous Plants' Shake Up Manufacturing
INEEJI expands AI autonomous factory operations with 11.67 million tons of process data, while home appliance, furniture, and K-beauty firms grow service and distribution businesses.
LG Releases Korea's Largest AI Model 'K-EXAONE 2.0' as Open Source
LG AI Research released K-EXAONE 2.0, Korea's largest AI foundation model with 750 billion parameters, on Hugging Face, outperforming China's leading models in long-text comprehension.
Upstage, Wrtn Back Small Business AI Transformation as Adoption Spreads
Upstage and Wrtn back small business AI transformation, Cloudflare Workers tops 5.5 million developers, and Samsung Electronics invests 800 billion won in DS and DX startups.
Prediction Is the Key in the Renewable Energy Era, AI Cuts the Error
Korean VPP startups cut renewable energy forecasting errors to 3–5% using AI, while Shinhan invests 20 billion won in German defense unicorn Quantum Systems and K-beauty surges in Europe.
KT, Amorepacific Launch AI Research Assistant, Cutting 12-Day Task to 5 Minutes
KT and Amorepacific built a specialized generative AI 'Lemon,' cutting research and regulatory review tasks from 12 days to five minutes, as corporate AI adoption spreads rapidly.
China's Moonshot AI Opens Top Model, Squaring Off Against OpenAI and Anthropic
Chinese startup Moonshot AI opens Kimi K3 model weights, sparking a U.S. open-weight debate, while Naver forms a $10 billion AI infrastructure alliance with Nvidia and Brookfield.
Content Investment Grows, So Do Disputes—IP Contract 'Blind Spots' Exposed
Legal disputes over content investment, distribution rights, and IP are spreading in Korea as standard contracts fail to reflect complex business structures, while SKT, KB Kookmin, and KT expand AI and fintech.
Nvidia Partners with KAIST, Seoul National University to Nurture AI Talent
Nvidia is establishing joint AI research labs with KAIST and Seoul National University to nurture engineering talent, while AMD nears a final HBM4 contract with Samsung Electronics.
Incheon's Proven Special R&D Zone to Get 20 Billion Won Boost
Incheon's Seohae Geomdan Special R&D Zone will receive 20 billion won over five years after exceeding first-phase targets, spinning off 36 research firms and 75 startups.
Valuation Quadruples in Six Months: AI Fuels Chip Startup Boom
AIO reached a 1.2 trillion won valuation, quadrupling in six months on NAND controller demand, as Korea's AI chip startups draw investment and prepare IPOs.
Samsung Launches RX Business Division, Bets Big on Physical AI
Samsung Electronics establishes 'RX Business Division' to lead physical AI, while LG Energy Solution restarts its U.S. battery plant and Lotte Department Store launches K-fashion platform Next Lab.