Kakao Ventures Corp. is an independent subsidiary of Kakao Corp. & the most active, startup-friendly early stage VC of Korea.

Kakao Ventures

Shinhan Capital is a credit-specialized company offering corporate finance services for its clients. It provides financial services, lease, corporate loans, investment financing, housing loans, installment financing, etc. Shinhan Capital was established in 1991. The company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Shinhan Capital

GU Equity Partners is an investment firm that offers private equity investment services. The firm provides risk capital investment, company mergers, company acquisitions, and other related services.

GU Equity Partners

Seoul Techno Holdings is to commercialize and support technology and startups affiliated with the Seoul National University.

Seoul Techno Holdings

KCA Partners is a private equity firm that invests in the energy, water and wastewater management, food, and beverage sectors.

KCA Partners

The TIPS program is a technology start-up support system that selects start-up teams with technological items led by the private sector.

TIPS Program

The Korea Development Bank (KDB) provides long-term financing for projects designed to assist Koreaâ€:tm:s economic growth and development. It offers equipment capital loans and working capital loans to Korean private enterprises that undertake major industrial projects. The bank also extends guarantees to its clients to facilitate their other borrowings and to finance major industrial projects. KDB guarantees Won-denominated corporate debentures, local currency loans, and other Won liabilities and foreign currency loans from domestic and overseas Korean financial institutions and from foreign institutions. The bankâ€:tm:s other activities include engagement in a range of industrial development activities, including conducting economic and industrial research; performing engineering surveys; providing business analyses and managerial assistance; and offering trust services. As of June 30, 2007, KDB had 40 local branches, 6 overseas branches, and 2 overseas offices. The bank was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Korea Development Bank

Expanding 4.5 million fixed lines to 20 million in just 12 years, kt introduced universal telephone service to every citizen of Korea, leading the development and advancement of communications services.   More recently, kt established an advanced broadband network for the first time in Asia, and launched Korea's first communication satellite 'Mugunghwa (Sharon's Rose)', contributing to making Korea one of the most advanced countries in information and communications.  Since becoming a government-funded corporation in 1997, kt changed its business portfolio to focus more on wireless and internet services instead of fixed lines.   Taking over Hansol M.com and merging with its subsidiary KTF, kt expanded its business scope and included mobile communication as its main service.   kt became a privately owned company in 2002 and began concentrating on building broadband network. As a result, the company set several new records including the increase of ADSL subscribers to 6 million in just 3 years and played a leading role in the age of digital networking.

KT Corp

A fundamental investment philosophy of ‘Building on principles’ guides us at Mirae Asset. Over the years, these principles have enabled us to become Asia’s premier financial group and created new trends in the Asian capital market.  Above all, we put our clients’ interests first, always adhering to high ethical standards. Because our success clearly comes from their success, we use fundamental investment principles to identify opportunities that generate value and lasting profits.  We are strong believers in teamwork and are determined to recruit the best and brightest people as we open new horizons in Asia and expand globally. Just as we strive to continually improve our own performance, Mirae Asset is committed to helping every community it joins.  On behalf of the entire Mirae Asset Financial Group, I would like to convey the sense of responsibility your trust in us merits and pledge to do all that we can to exceed your expectations.

Mirae Asset Venture Investment

IMM Investment is an independent venture capital firm focused on investments in venture capital, mezzanine, and infrastructure. With the longstanding trust of institutional investors, partners and investment professionals continue to create significant values for Portfolio companies, which consist of information technology, healthcare/biotech, and manufacturing.

IMM Investment

SV Investment Partners is an operationally focused private investment holding company focused on middle market software and technology-enabled business services companies.

SV Investment Partners

Pavilion Capital Partners is a growth-oriented private equity investor. It provides capital and strategic support to companies in the United States and Asia. In particular, the focus is on industries experiencing high growth due to globalization, technology, or demographic trends.  It actively works with company founders/management to assist in strategic initiatives, mergers and acquisitions, and eventual liquidity. The pavilion is partnered with family offices and private equity funds and is based in New York City.

Pavilion Capital

kt investment is a new technology business finance company established in 2015. It is an investment company that represents KT Group . kt investment seeks to contribute to social contribution and maximize investment return through win-win cooperation with promising SMEs and venture companies . kt investment seeks to achieve long-term returns by looking at the market from a global perspective and looking for value investment opportunities in the long term.

KT investment

Founded in 1990, KB Investment Co., Ltd. (KBIC) is one of Korea’s leading investment firms of venture capital and private equity funds with over USD 2.6 Billion of asset under management as of December 2023. KBIC is a subsidiary of KB Financial Group, Korea’s premier financial group with the largest domestic customer base as well as the widest network of service branches in Korea. KBIC’s team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships, and a unique professional investment approach to investing. KBIC passionately support our portfolio companies with active guidance in all key aspects of team building, strategy, operations and governance

KB Investment

South Korean investment firm, headquartered in Seoul.

Mirae Asset Capital

With offices in Paris, London, Seoul and Singapore, our mission is to broaden the horizon of European technology by providing leading start-ups with the capital for growth and access to Asian markets. Our strong ties with many leading Asian corporates, together with our network in Asian tech ecosystems offer our portfolio companies much more than just capital. Founded in 2016 by Fleur Pellerin, former French Minister for Innovation and Digital Economy, Korelya Capital (a Korelya Groupe company) is an investment platform with over EUR 500 million under management. We back the most ambitious founders in their journey to build global technology champions by sharing our passion, experience and market reach.

Korelya Capital

KB Securities is a Financial Services company.

KB Securities

SV Investment Corp is a venture capital firm that provides companies with finance, strategic advice and information at critical stages of their development.

SV Investment Corp

Shinhan Venture Investment operates as an investment company. Shinhan Venture Investment focuses on earlier-stage venture capital investments and later-stage control investments opportunities derived from the latest megatrends such as the aging population, disruptive technologies, IT convergence, alternative energy and etc.

Shinhan Venture Investment

Gyeongnam Venture Investment operates as an investment firm.

Gyeongnam Venture Investment

DG Daiwa Ventures invests in start-up companies with next-generation technology and provides business development support. It is focused on blockchain, xR, AI, security, and BioHealth, as they are likely to be at the foundations of future businesses. In addition to the five core technologies, the fund will also focus on IoT technologies, which often overlap or serve as an application layer.

DG Daiwa Ventures

SDB Investment

Noh & Partners is private equity fund management company for value-creating investment.

Noh & Partners

Oasis Equity Partners is a private equity firm based in Seoul, South Korea.

Oasis Equity Partners

KT Cloud is a public cloud service to provide enterprise customers prompt, stable and high-quality cloud server resources.

KT Cloud

Wa’ed Ventures is a $500 million venture capital fund with the aim to accelerate the development of an integrated startup ecosystem by investing in local tech-based startups and incentivizing global entrepreneurs to localize their tech innovations in the Kingdom.

Wa’ed Ventures

Rebellions

Rebellions.ai creates AI accelerators that bridge the gap between core semiconductor architectures and deep learning algorithms. Its objective is to provide domain-specific AI processors together with optimized software.

Rebellions is a South Korean startup that develops AI system-on chips (SoC). The company's primary product offering is ATOM, an AI chip launched in 2023, designed to compete with industry leader NVIDIA. It claims to be the first neural processing unit (NPU) from South Korea to be utilized in a data center for LLM. Rebellions aims to provide domain-specific AI processors coupled with optimized software. The Atom chip is specifically engineered for computer vision and chatbot AI applications.&nbsp;

Empowering Tomorrow's Innovations with Generative AI Infrastructure

Generative AI Infrastructure

Rebellions.ai

Korean AI chipmakers Rebellions and FuriosaAI set to challenge Nvidia’s dominance

Rebellions is a South Korean startup that develops AI system-on chips (SoC). The company's primary product offering is ATOM, an AI chip launched in 2023, designed to compete with industry leader NVIDIA. It claims to be the first neural processing unit (NPU) from South Korea to be utilized in a data center for LLM. Rebellions aims to provide domain-specific AI processors coupled with optimized software. The Atom chip is specifically engineered for computer vision and chatbot AI applications.&nbsp;The firm claims its AI chips are more energy-efficient, consuming ~20% of the power of an NVIDIA A100 chip when performing targeted tasks. This energy efficiency is achieved through the chip's focus on specific tasks rather than broad functionality. Rebellions' approach includes a decentralized programming model, which the company claims will enable customers to leverage powerful yet energy-efficient AI hardware with seamless software integration.As of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30407">June 2024</a>, Rebellions and Sapeon Korea, developer of the X330 AI chip, were set to merge to focus on NPUs.Key customers and partnershipsKT, one of South Korea's largest telecom operators, is an investor in Rebellions and a prospective customer for its products.&nbsp;In October 2023, Rebellions and Samsung Electronics partnered to develop a next-generation AI chip, “Rebel,” aiming to tap into the growing GenAI market.

<div>
 
 Founded in Israel, NeuReality specializes in providing hardware infrastructure to streamline computation processes to accelerate the development of AI applications. Its technology assists AI inferencing deployment by offering a comprehensive system solution that seamlessly supports a vast array of deep learning models.
 
 
 NeuRealitys&rsquo; infrastructure includes an architecture called the Network Addressable Processing Unit (NAPU) to maximize the capabilities of Deep Learning Accelerators (DLAs). This design facilitates inference through purpose-built NAPUs that are specifically crafted for AI inference tasks, enhancing performance and efficiency.
 
 
 The NR1 AI Inference Solution by NeuReality is a comprehensive system comprising architecture, hardware, and software platforms. Launched in November 2023, it intends to simplify the installation, utilization, and management of AI, making it accessible and manageable for users.
 
 
 The hardware offerings of the solution include,
 
 
 1. 
 NR1 Network Addressable Processing Unit
 : A network addressable inference Server-on-a-Chip with an embedded Neural Network Engine, which is a workflow-optimized hardware device with specialized processing units, native network capabilities, and virtualization capabilities
 
 
 2. 
 NR1-M&trade; AI Inference Module
 : A full-height, double-wide PCIe card containing one NR1 Network Addressable Processing Unit (NAPU) system-on-chip and a network addressable Inference Server that can connect to an external Deep Learning Accelerator (DLA)
 
 
 3. 
 NR1-S AI Inference Appliance
 : An optimized design for an inference server that contains NR1-M modules with the NR1 NAPU, which enables disaggregated AI service in a scalable and efficient architecture
 
 
 The software component of the solution is designed to be compatible with any trained model from any development environment. It includes tools that handle the entire AI pipeline and enable seamless connection of AI workflows to any environment.
 
 
 NeuReality differs from traditional AI chip connectivity in replacing CPU-centric support with an AI-centric platform. This allows components to communicate directly with AI accelerators, eliminating the need for commands to pass through a central processing unit. Additionally, the technology enables AI accelerators to connect with each other, enhancing efficiency and performance in AI applications. It also claims its AI-centric approach reduces complexity, cost, and power usage. The firm claims it can reduce inference costs by 90%.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 In November 2021, NeuReality teamed up with IBM to develop advanced AI inference technology by enhancing its NR1 chip and system for use in IBM's Hybrid Cloud.
 
 
 In September 2021, the company partnered with Xilinx to develop AI-centric platforms that improve real-world AI applications. This collaboration was intended to focus on NeuReality's AI-centric inference platform NR1-P and address existing issues with AI deployment including cost and complexity.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27745">
 March 2024
 </a>
 , NeuReality secured USD 20 million in funding led by The European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. The funds were intended to accelerate the deployment of NeuReality&rsquo;s NR1AI Inference Solution.
 
 
 In December 2022, it secured USD 35 million in a Series A funding round led by Samsung Ventures, with Cardumen Capital, Varana Capital, OurCrowd, XT Hi-Tech, and others as participants. The funding was used to launch its flagship AI inferencing solution.
 
</div>

NeuReality

<div>
 
 Accubits is an AI and BLOCKCHAIN focused development and solutions company based in Washington DC with its development offices in India and Dubai. Pioneering as a custom Blockchain solutions provider delivering solutions ever since 2012, Accubits is one of the oldest and experienced Blockchain dev house in the market and is featured as one among the top 13 Blockchain companies in India by INC42. We are a big family of engineers, innovators, inventors and many others continually working to help our customers in leveraging their business and adding value to their lives. Over the past 6 years, We have delivered more than 600 projects, for over 200 clients worldwide. Several of Fortune 500 companies in sectors from Retail to Health are being powered by our solutions to streamline and leverage their growth.Our portfolio for AI solutions includes intelligent conversational tools, RPAs, CRMs, SIPs, real-time video and image analytics systems, state of the art ALPR systems and many more being used enterprises, startups across North America, Canada, Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, India &amp; Sweden. Our portfolio of Blockchain development includes custom DApps and smart contracts, crypto token and exchange development, integrated blockchain services and ICO platforms.
 
</div>

Accubits

<div>
 
 LeewayHertz is a leading software development company delivering tailor-made digital solutions to businesses worldwide. Our team of 250+ full-stack developers, designers and innovators has designed and developed 100+ digital solutions across industry verticals. As a close-knit team of AI and web3 experts, designers and full-stack developers, we undertake collaborative research and development to create next-gen applications and solutions perfectly suited to the evolving tech space. As a technology pioneer with deep knowledge and expertise in AI, blockchain and other advanced technologies like IoT, LeewayHertz believes in helping companies overcome their most complex tech challenges and drive business growth. Our motto, &lsquo;You Dream It: We Build It,&rsquo; reflects our business philosophy. From putting flesh on your idea to delivering the expected end product, we do whatever it takes to make your project successful. Having worked with 30+ top fortune 500 companies and created various on-demand solutions, we boast an impressive work portfolio demonstrating our expertise.
 
</div>

LeewayHertz

Databricks, a data and AI company established by the original developers behind prominent Big Data solutions such as Delta Lake, Apache Spark, and MLflow, and provides organizations with AI and data analytics tools for efficient management of their data.Databricks' primary product is the Databricks Lakehouse platform, a unified data intelligence platform that merges a data warehouse and data lake to provide developers with efficient access to data and enables enterprise customers to create their AI models—similar to a ChatGPT-style AI system—using only their internal data.Databricks Unity Catalog, part of the Databricks Lakehouse Platform, provides unified governance for structured and unstructured data, machine-learning models, notebooks, dashboards, and files across various environments, offering automated monitoring, proactive alerts, and seamless data sharing through Delta Sharing integration. Furthermore, Databricks offers an open architecture that streamlines the AI development process, allowing the integration of various LLMs such as Llama 2, Azure OpenAI, and Anthropic, enabling customization with enterprise data for tailored model creation.Notably, Lakehouse leverages NVIDIA technology for accelerated data processing and AI model generation. Databricks also offers industry-specific solutions like Databricks Lakehouse for Healthcare, Financial Services, Retail, and Manufacturing.Databricks has expanded its offerings through multiple acquisitions, including MosaicML ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19683">July 2023 </a>), Arcion ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23041">October 2023 </a>), Okera ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18197">May 2023 </a>), and Datajoy (October 2022). Key customers and partnershipsAs of July 2023, Databricks served a global customer base of approximately 10,000, including notable customers such as Comcast, DuPont, Honeywell, Rolls-Royce, Shell, and Tata Steel.Notable partnerships include collaboration with NVIDIA to incorporate NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM into its inference service and a partnership with Hevo-Data to automate data integration into the lakehouse for mutual customers (October 2022).Databricks also partnered with Karini AI to accelerate GenAI deployment for enterprises (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33687">September 2024</a>)Databricks also provides an LLM Mesh partner program; it has partnered with firms such as <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24218">Dataiku </a>where an emphasis is placed on comprehensive data access, enabling tight integration of GenAI applications with enterprise data.

Databricks

<div>
 
 Labelbox offers a data-centric AI platform for enterprises, enabling them to develop, optimize, and use AI to solve complex problems and power new products and services.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 Labelbox&rsquo;s platform offers capabilities for building, optimizing, training, fine-tuning LLMs, and AI-enabled data labeling automation.&nbsp;
 
 
 Its products include&nbsp;
 
 
 1) Catalog: A platform for building AI applications with features such as advanced search capabilities and optimizing data for labeling budgets
 
 
 2) Annotate: A data labeling solution designed to streamline and accelerate labeling operations using automation tools and pre-labeling techniques
 
 
 (3) Model: Offers tools for data enrichment, model-assisted labeling, and custom Foundry Apps to automate data management tasks and improve AI model performance&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 (4) Boost: Offers fully managed tailored solutions such as on-demand data labeling services to enhance AI development speed and efficiency.&nbsp;
 
 
 As such, Labelbox enables companies to streamline the fine-tuning and alignment of LLMs and enables the validation of outputs through techniques such as reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), reinforcement learning from AI feedback (RELIEF), and evaluation. This incorporation of human expertise ensures more accurate, contextually relevant, trustworthy, and secure results from LLM systems.
 
 
 The platform is offered through a SaaS subscription model with packages ranging from free subscriptions with limited usage and custom pricing for enterprises.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The firm's solutions have use cases across diverse industries, including retail, consumer internet, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services. Labelbox has a large portfolio of customers, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Blue River Technology, a smart AgriTech company that used Labelbox's model-assisted labeling suite to enhance its See &amp; Spray technology in smart agriculture, resulting in herbicide cost savings of 70%&ndash;80. Labelbox's customers also include several Fortune 500 companies, such as Walmart, P&amp;G, Audi Adobe, Airbnb, Bayer, and Bosch.
 
 
 Key partnerships include a long-term collaboration with 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21770">
 Google Cloud
 </a>
 to facilitate digital transformations in retail, consumer internet, financial services, and manufacturing and logistics.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In January 2022, the firm raised USD 110 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. The company planned to utilize the funds to finance company expansion.
 
 
 
</div>

Labelbox

Integrated solutions that handle various processes such as model training, fine-tuning, model deployment, monitoring, and maintenance in working with and deploying LLMs

Platforms that provide hardware such as high-performance CPUs, GPUs, or TPUs, including cloud-based solutions that are commonly used to train and run GenAI models efficiently

Platforms that assist with fine-tuning pre-trained GenAI models or custom models tailored to specific use cases. Includes services that train models from scratch or use existing models

Platforms that store and retrieve training data in vector databases for access during the model training phase

Services to deploy GenAI models (on-premises or cloud-based) into production environments and integration tools to support existing systems and workflows

Ongoing monitoring of GenAI models to ensure performance. Includes regular model retraining, performance optimization, and troubleshooting

Platforms that assist in designing and refining prompts or instructions to GenAI models to get the desired responses or outcomes

Platforms that develop and implement strategies, policies, and practices to ensure the responsible, secure, ethical, and safe use of Generative AI technologies within an organization.

All services offered by these companies provide support to AI/ML

NLP is a key component of generative AI which is the core focus of this hub.

All companies within this space are offering infrastructure for generative AI

Generative AI infrastructure hub covers companies that deploy and run these foundation models.

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 An AI chip startup, Rebellions, has garnered USD 15 million in a Series B extension round led by Wa'ed Ventures, which is a venture capital fund owned by Saudi Aramco. This funding takes Rebellions' total financial backing up to USD 225 million since the company was founded in 2020.
 The capital raised will be utilized to speed up chip development, launch a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia, and expand business operations throughout the region.
 Rebellions is a specialist in AI inference accelerators and has plans to release its third chip, termed Rebel, with the cooperation of Samsung Foundry in the second half of 2024. The company markets itself as a budget-friendly alternative to established industry leaders and estimates that its Rebel chip could be retailed at half of NVIDIA’s USD 30,000 price.
 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The additional fundraise extends its USD 124 million Series B round in <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/26112"> January 2024 </a> . Rebellions differentiates itself from other GenAI chip startups via its "ATOM" AI accelerator engine, which claims to offer up to a 44% improvement in power efficiency <a href="https: 
//rebellions.ai/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/ATOMgenAI_white-paper.pdf"> compared </a> to NVIDIA’s A100 chip.&nbsp;

Rebellions.ai

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