K-Startups Win Over Sequoia, Grow Presence in Silicon Valley
Top U.S. VCs including Mayfield and Sequoia are backing Korean-founded deep tech startups, as Silicon Valley-born K-startups like Moloco return funds to Korea for hiring and R&D.
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Startup Founder News
Startup ecosystem, venture capital, and entrepreneurship news. Covers funding rounds, new ventures, tech innovation, and the Korean startup landscape.
Artificial General Intelligence Era Nears; Global VC Says Korea Holds the Opportunity
500 Global CEO Christine Tsai says AGI and ASI are the next tech wave, with Korea positioned as a top beneficiary thanks to its semiconductor and software strengths.
Hancom With Woos Japanese Startups, Showcases Security Technology
Hancom With demonstrated AI-based security solutions to 16 Japanese startup executives, showcasing its technology as it targets Japan's financial and public sectors for overseas expansion.
Premium Living Goods Sell Out Despite High Prices in Korea
Premium living goods are selling out in Korea despite high prices, as consumers prioritize design and brand. GS Shop's kaya dishcloths drew 160 million won in orders.
Banksalad Develops Alternative Credit Scoring Model Using Spending Data
Banksalad developed 'Banksalad Score,' an alternative credit scoring model with Sogang University that predicts credit risk from spending data, analyzing 200,000 card records.
Sendbird Unveils 'AI Employee' Handling Refunds and Reservations
Sendbird unveiled 'AI Agent Steward,' an AI service handling refunds and reservations. Musinsa expands into southern China, and Seoul's Ttaenggyeoyo posts 81.9 billion won in first-half sales.
Samsung, Celltrion Bet Big on $12.7 Billion Keytruda SC Market
Samsung Bioepis secures in-house SC formulation technology, joining Celltrion in targeting the $12.7 billion Keytruda SC biosimilar market ahead of the drug's patent expiry.
Global M&A and IPO Volume Hits 10-Year High at $3.2 Trillion
Global M&A, IPO, and private fundraising hit $3.2 trillion in the first half of 2025, up 45% year-on-year and a 10-year high, driven by mega-deals of $10 billion or more.
Firms Ditch Costly AI, Switch to Cheaper Chinese Models
The LLM token spending index fell 22% in a month as companies switch from costly frontier AI models to low-cost Chinese alternatives like DeepSeek and Zhipu AI.
LG, Samsung Adopt AI That Controls 1,000 Robots at Once
Daim Research develops proprietary AI controlling over 1,000 robots for unmanned factories, adopted by LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, while Korean voice AI startups race into the B2B market.
Woori Financial Bets 470 Billion Won on Startups, Citing "Potential"
Woori Financial Group is expanding venture capital with a continuous investment framework from startup founding to IPO, with cumulative group investment reaching 470 billion won across 231 startups.
Chinese AI Investors Visit Korea to Forge 'Physical AI Alliance'
Hong Kong-based Spark Physical AI Ventures visited Korea to explore a physical AI alliance, while domestic venture firms topped 40,000 again and K-SURE backed K-culture with $125 million.
Naver Advances AI Search, Cutting Hallucinations and Doubling Speed
Naver applied three next-generation technologies to its AI search, cutting hallucinations by 30 percentage points and doubling response speed while lowering costs to one-third.
Meta Picks Samsung's 2nm Process, Foundry Orders to Hit 50 Trillion Won
Meta has chosen Samsung Foundry's 2nm process for its MTIA AI accelerator, driving Samsung's foundry order backlog toward 50 trillion won, as big tech firms including Anthropic adopt Samsung ASICs.
Middle East Reopens: Venture Exports, Nuclear Projects Resume
Following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, Korean ventures resume Middle East exports of drones, nuclear services, and AI. Hancom's AI revenue share jumps to 11.52%.
US Lifts Anthropic AI Export Controls After 18 Days
The US lifted export controls on Anthropic's Mythos5 and Fable5 AI models after 18 days, while CJ CheilJedang restructured into three divisions and Shinhan Financial saved 652.3 billion won via digital transformation.
Korea and Japan Go All-In on AI Robots, Launching 100 Trillion Won Investment Race
Korea and Japan unveiled national robot strategies in June to catch up with China, with Japan planning 10.5 trillion yen (100 trillion won) in public-private investment by 2040.
AI Boom Strains Even Google, Which Turns Down Meta's Request
Google told Meta it cannot meet "Gemini" capacity demand, with an unfulfilled backlog of $460 billion, as Korea unveils a 20 trillion won Manufacturing AI 2030 Strategy and Kakao's labor dispute drags on.
Government Excludes RSU from Tax Benefits in Final Decision
Korea's government excluded RSU tax benefits from this year's tax law amendment, blocking the talent-retention tool's spread at startups despite a KDI recommendation for tax support.
Strong Tech, Weak Funding: The Painful Reality of Korean Ventures
Korea's venture lending is just one-750th of America's, leaving a severe scale-up funding gap, while LG Electronics formalizes a Physical AI alliance with Nvidia and China's robot firms top 1 million.
Krafton Bets 100 Billion Won on AI, Launches Monetization Drive
Krafton launched a new "AI Frontier Division" to monetize its AI technology, investing about 100 billion won in a Nvidia GPU cluster and doubling its AI workforce to 160.
6.6 Trillion Won Pours In: AI Startup Sets IPO Record
AI marketing firm Madup set this year's highest IPO record with a 3,305-to-1 subscription ratio, drawing 6.6 trillion won in deposits ahead of its July 1 KOSDAQ listing.
Nexon Pours 250 Billion Won Into Korean Games
Nexon forms a 120 billion won fund with Korea's culture ministry and adds 130 billion won, investing 250 billion won total to support Korean game developers and global IP.
AI Startup Madup Draws 1,396-to-1 Demand in IPO
AI marketing firm Madup drew a 1,396-to-1 ratio in book-building, pricing its IPO at 8,000 won. Foreign AI dominates Korea as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google battle for B2B lead.
Government Bets Big on Asan as AI, Semiconductor Hub
The Korean government selected Asan in South Chungcheong as the first Global Startup Campus outside Seoul, building a 'Korean Hsinchu Science Park' near Samsung and SK hynix chip fabs.
AI Takes Over Broadcasting: SOOP Develops AI Streamers
SOOP is developing a Large Video Model to create AI streamers from 5 billion annual communication data points, while Jusung's IPO drew a 2,784-to-1 subscription ratio.
National Growth Fund Draws Strong Demand as Money Flows to AI, Chips
Korea's National Growth Fund managers closed LP recruitment early, exceeding 3.9 trillion won as banks joined under eased risk-weight rules, boosting funding for AI and chip firms.
Startup AI Enters Round Two: Time to Make Money
Korean startups like MyRealTrip and Channel Corporation are shifting AI strategy toward revenue models, while SpaceX tops $2 trillion market cap on its Nasdaq debut and startups secure new funding.
SK Builds Data Center 'Brain,' Linking AI Factories and HBM
SK Telecom partners with Nvidia to build an AI data center "brain," linking SK hynix's HBM with AI factories as SK Group's AI infrastructure value chain takes shape.
Venture Groups Urge Delay of KOSDAQ Tier System, Warning of Stigma on Growth Firms
Korea's three venture associations urged a delay in the KOSDAQ tier system, warning it would brand Standard-market firms as substandard and disrupt VC investment cycles.
Naver Joins In: AI Elderly Care Competition Begins
Naver enters the AI elderly care market as ScatterLab secures 50 billion won and the U.S. imposes its first export controls on Anthropic's AI model, signaling intensifying AI competition.
Samsung Foundry Counterattack Begins; Eyeing Google Chip Orders
Google reviews entrusting next-generation TPU component production to Samsung's 2nm process as TSMC bottlenecks reshape the AI chip supply chain, while Anthropic builds its own servers.
Coupang Fined 624.7 Billion Won After Personal Data Breach
Korea's data protection regulator fined Coupang 624.7 billion won for leaking the personal data of 37.55 million people, the largest such penalty ever, at 1.8% of related revenue.
Rebellions Resumes Middle East Business, Targets Saudi Arabia
Korean AI chip startup Rebellions resumes its Middle East business, targeting Saudi Arabia, while SK Telecom forms a 760 billion won AI fund with NTT and Chunghwa Telecom.
Samsung Declares AI Transformation, Begins Training 280,000 Employees
Samsung Group declares an AI transformation across all affiliates, launching an AX Bootcamp and training 280,000 employees within the year while adopting external generative AI services.
China Beats Neuralink to First Commercial BCI Approval
China's NMPA granted the world's first commercial BCI approval for NEO, beating Musk's Neuralink, while KT builds an AX Alliance and Musinsa enters Tmall Global.
Nvidia Comes Calling: K-Games Become AI Testing Labs
Global big tech firms including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google are tapping Korean game companies as testing labs for next-generation AI technology, while K-beauty, reverse direct purchases, and Buldak make headlines.
AI Agent Era Dawns as Won-Backed Stablecoins Take Center Stage
KIBO launches a 340 billion won R&D commercialization guarantee, NVIDIA's Jensen Huang returns to Korea to meet top group chairmen, and won stablecoins emerge as core A2A payment infrastructure.
Jensen Huang Visits Korea as AI Alliance Takes Shape
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visits Korea Friday to meet SK, LG, and Naver chiefs as Korean manufacturing data emerges as a core asset for AI factory strategy.
Jensen Huang Picks Korean AI Startups for Closed-Door Meeting
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang invited Korean AI and robotics startups including Nota, Upstage and WIRobotics to a closed-door meeting in Seoul, signaling Korea's role as a key AI ecosystem hub.
IPO Bar Rises in Korea as Tougher Reviews Squeeze Venture Listings
Korea's IPO market faces its toughest year since 2013 with only 21 listings and 1 trillion won raised through May, as duplicate listing rules and stricter reviews block major venture and conglomerate offerings.
Lotte GRS Bets on Cafe Expansion to Reduce Lotteria Dependence
Lotte GRS plans to expand its brewing coffee brand Stanbrew from 5 to 20 stores by year-end to reduce dependence on Lotteria, which accounts for 70-80% of total revenue.
Foreign Startups Hit Record High; Korea Expands GSC Beyond Capital Region
Korea's foreign technology startup visa holders hit a record 594 in April, while the Ministry of SMEs and Startups expands Global Startup Centers beyond Seoul. Big Wave Robotics passes KOSDAQ listing review.
Big Tech Scraps AI Usage Rankings Amid 'Token-Maxxing' Backlash
Big tech firms including Amazon, Meta, and Uber are scrapping AI token usage leaderboards as 'token-maxxing' inflates computing costs, shifting toward work-output-based evaluation.
Rebellions CEO Park Sung-hyun: K-Inference Will Break Nvidia's Monopoly
Rebellions CEO Park Sung-hyun says K-inference can break Nvidia's monopoly, touting 5-7x price efficiency. Naver invests 1 trillion won in AI creators; FuriosaAI partners with Broadcom.
Nvidia Officially Invites Korean AI Firm Nota to Partner Event
Nvidia officially invited Korean AI firm Nota to its Jetson Partners Day, while UVify enters defense, Musinsa posts 363.6 billion won Q1 revenue, and Rebellions delays IPO.
Samsung Electronics Officially Adopts ChatGPT, Gemini for DX Division
Samsung Electronics will officially adopt ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude for its DX Division in June, pursuing a two-track AI strategy alongside its in-house Samsung Gauss to boost productivity.
Google Embeds Voice AI Across Workspace, Letting Users Draft Documents by Speaking
Google unveiled "Live" voice AI in Docs, Keep and Gmail at I/O 2026, cutting processing time to 0.5 seconds. LG H&H pursues 300 billion won sale of Haitai htb. China's Shenzhou-23 docks with Tiangong.
Korea's Top Conglomerates Accelerate AI, Robot Push to Replace Workers
Korea's four major groups — Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor, and LG — are accelerating AI and robot adoption to replace workers amid the Yellow Envelope Act and N% profit-linked bonus disputes.
OpenAI IPO Imminent, Targeting $852 Billion Valuation
OpenAI targets a September IPO at an $852 billion valuation as Anthropic overtakes it in enterprise adoption, while Korean startups face agent washing concerns and Chinese tech enters homes.