Nvidia has decided to invest in Point2 Technology, a Korean deep-tech startup that has developed a breakthrough solution for chip-to-chip interconnect technology, long regarded as a bottleneck for artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC). It marks the first time Nvidia has invested in a Korea-based startup or semiconductor company.
KAIST Professor and Alumni Develop Data Transfer Technology 'Longer Than Copper, Cheaper Than Fiber'
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 23rd that Point2 Technology — co-founded by Bae Hyeon-min, professor of electrical engineering and head of KAIST's Startup Institute, together with his graduates — had secured a Series B extension investment on the 21st (local time) from NVentures, Nvidia's venture capital arm, along with Maverick Silicon and UMC Capital.
The total investment raised amounts to $76 million (about 100 billion won), the largest sum raised by a KAIST-affiliated startup this year.
What caught the attention of Nvidia and other investors is Point2 Technology's "e-Tube" technology. It is a plastic waveguide-based data transmission technology that utilizes radio frequency (RF) signals. By overcoming the limitations of both electricity-based copper wires and light-based optical fibers, it has emerged as an essential interconnect technology for future AIDC infrastructure.
AIDCs typically require the connection of thousands of semiconductors. However, copper wires face transmission distance limits, while optical fibers come with economic drawbacks of high cost and power consumption. The e-Tube technology extends transmission distance by 10 times compared with copper wires, while cutting power consumption and costs to one-third of those of optical cables.
Data transmission latency has also been reduced by more than 1,000 times. The research team highlighted that reliability was dramatically improved by eliminating lasers, a primary source of failure. "AI competitiveness is determined by interconnect — the chip-to-chip data connection technology," said Park Jin-ho, CEO of Point2 Technology. "Based on this investment, we will collaborate with global partners to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation AI infrastructure."
Professor Bae Hyeon-min Founds Five Deep-Tech Startups in Succession Based on Research
The latest achievement has also drawn attention to the serial entrepreneurship of Professor Bae Hyeon-min, who founded Point2 Technology. Starting with Intersymbol Communications, which he co-founded with his doctoral advisor in 2001, Bae has launched five deep-tech startups in total: TeraSquare in 2010, his second year as a KAIST professor; Obelab in 2013; Point2 Technology in 2016; and BarrelEye in 2021. All were commercialized from the findings of his own research papers. Drawing on this experience, he has also served as head of KAIST's Startup Institute since 2023.
Commenting on the achievement, Professor Bae said, "This is a representative case in which core technology developed at KAIST has drawn investment from a global Big Tech firm. Going forward, the KAIST Startup Institute will strengthen support so that startups with outstanding technologies can quickly enter global markets."
KAIST Attracts Cumulative 3.5 Trillion Won in Investment Over Five Years… "Nurturing Lab-Born Companies"
The KAIST Startup Institute has attracted a cumulative 3.5 trillion won in investment over the past five years, averaging 115 startups founded annually with a 92% five-year survival rate.
Since 2021, 24 companies have gone public, and last year three startups in AI and biotech — Protina, Nota AI, and Livsmed — successfully listed.
Going forward, the KAIST Startup Institute plans to build a "Global Growth Acceleration System" to more actively support campus startups' overseas expansion. Leveraging its global investor network, the institute aims to provide end-to-end support — from proof of concept (PoC) to investment — to systematically back the scale-up of deep-tech startups.