Autonomous robot services company, Neubility has announced that Samsung Venture Investment has invested 3 billion won ($2.2 million) in the company. This brings the total cumulative investment to approximately 30 billion won ($22 million) and provides a bridgehead for global expansion into major overseas markets such as Europe, Japan, and the United States, while also establishing a production base in Southeast Asia. Neubility’s competitiveness in services is increasing rapidly as it accumulates data on urban driving experience from its award-winning self-driving robot, Neubie, and its Robot ..read more

Korean space startup, Innospace, announced on Monday that its suborbital test launch vehicle, HANBIT-TLV, had successfully launched from the Alcantara Space Center in northern Brazil. The 8.4-ton thrust single-stage hybrid rocket was fired at 2:52 p.m. local time on Sunday, and the company is currently verifying the engine’s flight performance and payloads. This launch was the first civilian small satellite launcher in South Korea and a test project to validate the first stage engine of HANBIT-Nano, a commercial rocket capable of carrying a 50-kilogram payload. Innospace had faced multiple p ..read more

Korean FinTech startup Travel Wallet, a global payment service, has secured 19.7 billion won ($15 million) in Series C investment from investors including SK Securities, Golden Oak Investment, Smilegate Investment, CJ Investment, and BNK Investment & Securities. This investment brings the cumulative amount of investment in Travel Wallet to 50 billion won ($38 million). With this latest funding, Travel Wallet’s financial stability is expected to be further enhanced. The company now has 37.5 billion won in equity capital and 70 billion won in cash assets, a scale more than 10 times that of ..read more

VestellaLab, a South Korean technology company that operates the Watchmile navigation service, has signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia for cooperation in entering the local market. The partnership was announced on March 14th, 2023. VestellaLab was established in 2018 and is based on technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and non-GPS precise positioning technology. The company has developed Watchmile, a navigation service that guides drivers to empty parking spaces in indoor parking facilities. The service uses video and AI convergence techno ..read more

BEYOND International Technology Innovation Expo (BEYOND Expo) is set to return to its physical conference format in Macao from May 10 to 12, 2023, providing exhibitors and attendees with more direct access to media channels and networking opportunities. The event will be the largest and most influential technology exposition in Asia, with both live-streamed and in-person components. BEYOND Expo 2023 will focus on promoting comprehensive industrial modernization, development, and transformation through global technological innovation. Three key areas of focus will be BEYOND Sustainability, BE ..read more

Korean startup Afun Interactive, a real-time 3D content producer, has received 7 billion won ($5.3 million) investment from Shinhan Asset Management through Series A bridge funding. This investment comes after the company received 10 billion won ($7.6 million) from CJ Investment, Company K Partners, and CJ ENM in the 2021 Series A round. The company is pioneering a new genre called virtual K-pop and holds IPs such as virtual artists ‘Apoki’ and ‘Lesha’ based on world-class 3D production technology. Virtual K-pop artist Apoki has been recognized for its musicality and unique style, collaborat ..read more

The Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups is promoting Korean startups at Biban 2023, the largest startup, SMEs & entrepreneurship event in Saudi Arabia. At Biban 2023, Korean startups showcase their innovative products and services to the international market and explore potential business opportunities in the Middle East region. Biban 2023 is organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Small and Medium Business Administration of Saudi Arabia and held in Riyadh from March 9 to 13, 2023. It has been held as a domestic event in Saudi Arabia since 2017 but expanded to an international eve ..read more

Hyundai Motor Group has recently announced the spinoff of four of its internal startups, namely MOBINN, APLAYZ, SURFF Company, and CaREDIT, as independent companies this year. These startups were part of the Korean automotive group’s ZERO1NE Company Builder program, an incubation program that has been running since 2000 to help Hyundai employees establish startups beyond car manufacturing technology. To date, the automaker has selected and supported a total of 76 teams through its incubation program, with 30 of them becoming independent companies by this year. Selected startups will receive ..read more

The number of one-man creative companies in South Korea has more than doubled in a year, according to the ‘2022 One-person Creative Business Survey’ released by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on March 9th. The survey found that there were 917,365 one-person creative companies in Korea as of 2020, up from 458,332 in the previous year. A one-person creative enterprise is defined as a business run by one or fewer than five employees with creativity and expertise but no full-time workers. The survey showed that the manufacturing industry accounted for the most significant share of these compa ..read more

Seoul-based startup,Wisely, has emerged victorious in a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by razor blade manufacturer, Dorco. The case, which began in October 2020, centred around Dorco’s patent for geometrically bending razor blades to increase their rigidity and efficiency. In response to the lawsuit, Wisely argued that the patent itself was invalid, as the shape of a geometric razor blade was a natural occurrence when the blade is bent. The Intellectual Property Tribunal sided with Wisley in August 2021, citing a lack of novelty in Dorco’s patent. Dorco appealed the decision, b ..read more