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.
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Startup ecosystem, venture capital, and entrepreneurship news. Covers funding rounds, new ventures, tech innovation, and the Korean startup landscape.
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.
LG Innotek, Kakao Mobility Partner on Autonomous Driving
LG Innotek and Kakao Mobility signed an MOU to co-develop autonomous driving AI, while Woori Bank advances financial sector AX with AI agents across 29 operations.
Musk Loses OpenAI Lawsuit, Clearing IPO Risk
Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft in under two hours, clearing a major risk to OpenAI's planned IPO. Korean startups Newnal and Musinsa also draw attention.
Anthropic, OpenAI Capture 89% of Paid AI Market
Anthropic and OpenAI capture 89% of the paid AI market as 34 unlisted AI startups post combined annualized revenue of $80 billion, while Korea launches a 50.4 billion won K-AI humanoid project.
Korea Venture Investment Tops 3.3 Trillion Won, AI and Bio Lead
Korea's Q1 venture investment reached 3.3 trillion won, up 24.1% year-on-year, with ICT services and bio/medical leading. New venture fund commitments hit a record 4.4 trillion won.
Toss Securities Revenue Doubles on Overseas Stock Trading Boom
Toss Securities posted Q1 net profit of 84.4 billion won, up 31.95% YoY, as overseas stock trading volume surged 43% to 133.4 trillion won, driving record quarterly revenue.
Kakao Mobility Weighs U.S. Listing as Uber-TPG Three-Way Deal Gains Momentum
Kakao Mobility appoints Deloitte Anjin as auditor to explore U.S. listing as three-way deal talks with Uber and TPG accelerate, while SMEs take 106 days to respond to cyber breaches.
AI Patrol Cars, Military AI Emerge as Startups Enter Public Sector
Korean startups Lion Robotics, BigValue, Clicka and 42Maru are accelerating AI transformation in defense, public security and livestock disease control as the government launches a national AGI strategy council.
AI Firm Makinarocks Draws 13.9 Trillion Won in KOSDAQ IPO Subscription
AI startup Makinarocks drew 13.87 trillion won in KOSDAQ IPO subscriptions with a 2,807-to-1 ratio, while Lotte, LG CNS, and Samsung SDS compete in physical AI.
Public Agencies Pick Nvidia GPUs Despite Korea's Homegrown NPU Push
Korean public agencies continue adopting Nvidia GPUs over domestic NPUs despite the government's "K-Nvidia" push, exposing a gap between policy and procurement reality.
KOSDAQ Delisting Rules Tighten, Driving Defensive M&A Surge
Tighter KOSDAQ delisting rules are driving defensive M&A among Korean SMEs, while AI firm Elice Group eyes a 1 trillion won KOSDAQ listing this month.
AI Agents Running 24/7 Trigger Token Cost Alarm
As Korean companies run AI agents 24/7, token costs are emerging as a key AI governance challenge, with one team spending 60 million won in a single month.
AI Assistant Coming to KakaoTalk, Completing Transactions Automatically
Kakao unveils agentic AI service completing payments within KakaoTalk in H2, as Anthropic secures 220,000 GPUs from xAI and Korea's AIDC Special Act passes the National Assembly.
Anthropic Unveils 10 Financial AI Agents, Targeting Wall Street
Anthropic unveiled 10 AI agents for financial firms, targeting Wall Street. Annual revenue is projected to surpass $30 billion, more than tripling from last year.
API Auto-Trading Surges, Heading Toward 100 Trillion Won
Combined API trading volume at Korea's top brokerages reached 37.4 trillion won last year and is projected to hit 100 trillion won in 2024 amid the vibe coding boom.
Samsung TV Market Share Slips; Veteran Lee Won-jin Called In to Turn Tide
Samsung Electronics replaces VD business head Lee Won-jin to overhaul TV business as global market share falls to 17.7%, while Chinese rivals TCL and Hisense gain ground.
Meta Acquires Robotics Startup, Enters Humanoid Race
Meta acquires household robot startup ARI to enter the humanoid race, joining Amazon and Tesla in Big Tech's intensifying physical AI competition as Korea eyes an 18-month lead.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics FC-BGA Sold Out as Demand Exceeds Supply by 50%
Samsung Electro-Mechanics' FC-BGA demand exceeds production capacity by over 50%, triggering price hike talks with Big Tech as AI data center demand surges globally.
Smart Glasses Display Equipment Data Instantly via AI
Deepfine adds Vision Assist to its DAO smart glasses solution, instantly displaying equipment data via AI. FSC focuses fintech growth on AX and youth startups, while indie K-fashion hits record sales.
Busan Startups Gear Up for IPO Rush as 30 Firms Prepare Listings
About 30 Busan-based startups including Caredoc and Locus Korea are preparing IPOs across senior care, logistics tech, and biotech, signaling a regional capital market shift.
Foreign Capital Pours In as K-Franchises Change Hands
Foreign capital is flowing into Korean franchises, with Burger King operator BKR's sale potentially reaching 1 trillion won, following Carlyle's KFC Korea and Jollibee's Shabu All Day acquisitions.
Google Invests $40 Billion in Anthropic, Expanding AI Stakes
Google commits up to $40 billion to Anthropic at a $350 billion valuation, while Korean firms accelerate AI transformation and government supports exporters facing 40% logistics cost surges.