tech startups

Mergers & Acquisitions Soon for sale: Altos Ventures-backed Cafe Knotted operator

Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures-backed Good Food For Good (GFFG), operator of South Korea’s popular dessert cafe, Cafe Knotted, will likel...

Tech, Media & Telecom Samsung steps up AR race with advanced microdisplay for smart glasses

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a major push into next-generation microdisplays for augmented reality (AR) glasses as it aims to position itsel...

Korean games NCSOFT invests in US game startup emptyvessel

NCSOFT Corp. has made an equity investment in emptyvessel, a US indie games studio, as part of efforts to expand into the first-person shooter genre...

Corporate strategy Samsung seeks tech alliance with top US universities for robotics, AI, 6G

In an ambitious bid to shape the future of technology, Samsung Electronics Co. is launching a sweeping initiative to collaborate with elite North Am...

Beauty & Cosmetics Packaging rides K-beauty wave: Shares of cosmetics container makers soar

As South Korea’s independent beauty brands continue to take the global stage by storm, investors are now looking beyond the creams and serums ...

Games S.Korea’s Krafton to nurture 6 new game studios in India

Krafton Inc., the publisher of global mega-hit “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), has selected six new Indian game studios to...

Korean chipmakers SK Hynix bets on 3D HBM as next game-changer in AI chip race

SK Hynix Inc., the world’s top DRAM memory chipmaker, aims to redefine the competitive landscape in artificial intelligence memory chips with ...

Artificial intelligence KT rolls out Thai-tailored large language model

South Korean telecom service provider KT Corp. has built a large language model (LLM) platform tailored for the Thai market in collaboration with Ja...

Beauty & Cosmetics Korea launches $27 mn fund to invest in K-beauty startups

South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Thursday announced the launch of a 40 billion won ($27 million) fund to invest in Korean beauty...

Asset management Stay liquid, be selective, look outside US tech, says TCW CEO

Global financial markets are facing rising volatility and uncertainty this year as the US stock market rally led by Big Tech is losing steam amid co...

Leadership & Management Samsung mobile chief fills leadership void in device division

Samsung Electronics Co. has appointed TM Roh, president and head of its mobile eXperience (MX) business, as the new chief of its device eXperience (...

Leadership & Management Naver to build sovereign AI, says founder Lee after return

South Korea’s No. 1 internet portal operator Naver Corp. will build strong sovereign artificial intelligence to fight the growing dominance of...

Corporate strategy Hyundai chief Chung Euisun targets software-led car dominance by 2028

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has set an ambitious target to outpace Tesla Inc. in software-defined vehicle (SDV) technology by 2028, un...

Venture capital South Korean VCs back US humanoid robot developer Apptronik

South Korean venture capital firms invested undisclosed tens of billions of won, equivalent to tens of millions of dollars, in US humanoid-developin...

Bio & Pharma SillaJen: First to use lab-grown human tissue to find best cancer drug dose

South Korean biotechnology firm SillaJen Inc. is pioneering a new approach to determine the best dose for a cancer drug combination in clinical tria...

Artificial intelligence LG takes on Big Tech AI in reasoning with Exaone Deep

LG AI Research, the artificial intelligence (AI) research and development unit of South Korea's LG Group, has unveiled Exaone Deep, an open-source A...

Games Krafton invests in 10 overseas game startups in 2024

Krafton Inc. invested in 10 overseas game developers in 2024 in search of the next big franchise intellectual property (IP) following its mega-hit t...

Korean startups Hyundai Motor spins off 4 in-house startups in energy, AI, mobility

South Korea’s auto behemoth Hyundai Motor Group has spun off its four in-house startups with innovative technologies in mobility, automation a...

Korean startups South Korea loses tech startups at rapid clip amid dwindling funding

Concerns are growing that the tech startup ecosystem in South Korea, home to global tech household name Samsung Electronics Co., would be trapped in...

Tech, Media & Telecom Microsoft's quantum computing bet sparks controversy, again

In 2021, Microsoft Corp. faced significant scientific embarrassment when a landmark research paper it had sponsored was retracted.Published in the U...

Electronics LG Electronics deepens ties with US startup Apex.AI

LG Electronics Inc. has invested in Apex.AI, a US-based startup developing safety-certified software designed to accelerate the transition of softwa...

Electronics Samsung's Harman goes from ugly duckling to golden swan

When Samsung Electronics Co. acquired Harman International Industries Inc., a global leader in the audio and automotive electronics business, in 201...

Mergers & Acquisitions Meta in talks to acquire Korean fabless chip startup FuriosaAI: Forbes

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is in talks to acquire Seoul-based AI chip startup FurisosaAI Inc. and the discussion cou...

Economy Korea to launch $23 bn high tech fund, bracing for Trump 2.0

South Korea will launch a high tech fund worth more than 34 trillion won ($23 billion) to provide cheap financing, including equity investments, for...

Korean startups Funding to Korean tech startups at 7-year low; seed funding soars

New funding to South Korean tech startups dropped to its lowest level in seven years in 2024. But seed funding soared 142% led by semiconductor, hea...

Earnings Samsung to focus on HBM, other high-end chips after weak Q4 earnings

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, on Friday vowed to cut its production of legacy chips and increase sales of pre...

Korean startups AI agent Gentoo poised to revolutionize online shopping

South Korean artificial intelligence startup Waddle Corp. is gearing up to reshape the online retail industry with artificial intelligence-powered i...

Mergers & Acquisitions Korea’s Cactus PE to buy stake in Kosdaq-listed EV parts firm

South Korea’s Cactus Private Equity is set to acquire a stake in YM Tech Co., a Kosdaq-listed electric vehicle (EV) parts maker, for nearly 20...

Korean startups Allsale, K-beauty's leading ambassador to the US

Allsale Corporation, a South Korean startup operating an influencer marketing platform, is in talks with investors to further support Korean cosmeti...

Artificial intelligence Naver D2SF invests in N.American AI startup

South Korea's online giant Naver Corp.'s startup nurturing organization D2SF (D2 Startup Factory) invested in North American AI ad tech startup Remb...