Startups & Innovation News Digest March, 31, 2024

Seoul, South Korea 

March 31, 2024

"I'm blowing tens of millions of dollars every month..." Startups that can't even go bankrupt

  Mr. A, the CEO of a start-up, laid off all of his employees last year due to management difficulties. I decided that I couldn't continue the business anymore and looked into bankruptcy proceedings. However, one of the eight investment firms strongly opposed bankruptcy, leaving him in a position where he could neither do this nor that. Faced with having to pay tens of millions of won in interest every month, Mr. A is bleeding dry. Mr. B, who is in his 30s and founded a start-up four years ago, tried to save the company until the end, but his debts increased and he went bankrupt. After five years of bad credit, he was effectively thrown out of the startup industry. Far from trying to start a business again, they are labeled as "failures" and are in a difficult position to engage in social activities.  

The most typical case is when it is judged that it is no longer possible to maintain the business and bankruptcy is inevitable, and some investment companies oppose it. Venture capitalists (VCs), which are GPs (management companies) with important investment performance, cannot easily agree to bankruptcy because they are looking at LPs (investors). It is inevitable that a large number of 'zombie ventures' that maintain only the name of the company without business capabilities will be mass-produced.

https://n.news.naver.com/article/015/0004965113

LG Group to invest 100 trillion won..."Focus on this business"

  LG Group has announced that it will invest 100 trillion won in Korea, it will be interesting to see what kind of business it will focus on with this investment. In particular, as auto parts (electronics) and artificial intelligence (AI) are areas with great synergy with other businesses, it is highly likely that investments will be made centered on these businesses.

According to industry sources on the 28th, LG announced its plan to invest 100 trillion won in Korea over the next five years at the '62nd Annual General Shareholders' Meeting' held on the 26th. This is equivalent to 65% of LG Group's total global investment.LG will invest 50% of its domestic investment in future technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and cleantech, known as the "ABC," as well as growth areas such as batteries, electronics, and next-generation displays. In addition, 55% of the funds are spent on research and development (R&D). As such, the reason behind LG's large-scale investment in Korea is the intention to further enhance its technological capabilities in business areas with promising growth in the future. In particular, it is highly likely that LG will make the electronics and AI sectors the core of its investment and implement a strategy to increase synergy with the rest of its businesses.  

https://n.news.naver.com/article/003/0012454864

Amazon invests an additional 3.7 trillion won in 'OpenAI rival' Anthropic

  Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, announced on the 27th (local time) that it will invest an additional $2.75 billion (3.718 trillion won) in artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic.T

his investment follows a $1.25 billion (1.69 trillion won) investment in September last year, bringing the total investment in Anthropic to $4 billion (5.48 trillion won). Amazon said in September last year that it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic. Amazon explained that the investment will give it a partial stake in Anthropic and will not participate in its board of directors.The investment was made based on Anthropic's last market valuation of $18.4 billion (24.8768 trillion won).

CNBC called the investment "the largest external investment in Amazon's 30-year history to gain an edge in the AI race."Anthropic is an AI startup founded in 2021 by siblings Daniela and Dario Ammaday, who were part of OpenAI's founding group.On the 4th, the company announced that it has launched its latest AI model, 'Claude 3', and is competing with OpenAI's AI model GPT-4 and Google's Gemini.

https://n.news.naver.com/article/001/0014593575

Global K-beauty Startup 'Signature Label' Attracts Seed Investment

Global K-beauty distribution startup 'Signature Label' announced that it has raised seed round investment from CJ Investment and Atinum Partners. The investment amount is undisclosed.

Signature Label supports K-beauty brands' overseas expansion and launched the skincare brand 'ZIGTAG' to showcase it both domestically and internationally.

It was founded in March last year by CEO Lee Jeong-min, who came from K-beauty commerce company B2Link and successfully launched Korean cosmetics brands 'Skin 1004' and 'Nine Wishes' into Southeast Asia, and Kim Yun-jin, co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) of startup accelerator Bluepoint Partners. Currently, it is developing overseas distribution business for more than 30 domestic beauty brands, and is cooperating with major distribution partners in more than 10 countries, such as Indonesia's Beautyhowl, Vietnam's TDIC, the U.S.'s TJX, and Japan's Wellness Botte.

Launched in August last year targeting global consumers, the fashionable derma brand 'Zig Tag' is a new K-skincare brand with excellent functionality, unique concept, and price competitiveness. The investment will be used intensively to create global performance for Zigtag and domestic cosmetics brands.

https://platum.kr/archives/225026

KISA, Incheon City-Incheon Technopark and ' Opposite Hands... Establish a regional blockchain technology innovation support center

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced on the 28th that it has signed an agreement with Incheon Metropolitan City and Incheon Technopark on the '2024 Regional Blockchain Technology Innovation Support Center Construction Project'.

Since 2022, KISA and the Ministry of Science and ICT have been promoting the 'Regional Blockchain Technology Innovation Support Center Construction Project' to discover blockchain innovation services linked to regional specialized industries and support the fostering of blockchain companies for the balanced development of the blockchain industry.

KISA has been conducting a public offering and selection evaluation since October last year to select one metropolitan local government region to host the regional blockchain technology innovation support center in 2024. As a result, the Incheon Metropolitan City Consortium (Incheon Metropolitan City, Incheon Technopark) was selected as the 3rd regional blockchain technology innovation support center operator.

The Incheon Blockchain Technology Innovation Support Center, which was selected this time, will operate a comprehensive support system such as blockchain development environment and commercialization, and overseas expansion through ▲ blockchain platform construction ▲ discovery of blockchain services linked to local specialized industries ▲ support for blockchain companies to move in ▲ support for company fostering ▲ support for participation in overseas exhibitions.

https://www.techm.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=122317

'Ethereum Creator' Vitalik Buterin from South Korea "Emphasis on account abstraction... In the next 10 years, we will expand user convenience."

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, who visited Seoul, emphasized 'account abstraction'. This will not only solve security issues, but also solve the complex user experience (UX) problem that is endemic to blockchain. Vitalik Buterin, who has been improving the Ethereum blockchain for the past 10 years to switch to proof-of-stake (PoS), explained that the next 10 years will be dedicated to expanding user convenience to grow the ecosystem.

Vitalik Buterin delivered a keynote lecture on 'The Future of Account Abstraction' at 'Beadle Asia 2024' held at SIGNIEL SEOUL in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 27th. On that day, he said, "I think we need to abstract accounts to create an open ecosystem," adding, "Over the past 10 years, Ethereum has been trying to improve the chain from the bottom up. A typical example is PoS switching. In the next 10 years, we will target the user stage to upgrade the ecosystem." Account abstraction can improve the complex and inconvenient UX of blockchain.

Account abstraction refers to allowing two wallets in Ethereum to be used as one. Ethereum has an externally owned account (EOA) and a contract account (CA). An EOA is an account used for verification purposes and shoots transactions with a private key. The CA then executes the contract data when it comes in. MetaMask, a representative digital asset wallet, is a prime example of EOA.

https://www.techm.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=122205&page=2&total=5448

SparkLabs is recruiting the 23rd batch of 'Placement Program'... Nurturing new startups

SparkLabs announced that it is recruiting startups to participate in the 23rd 'Batch Program', which discovers and nurtures early-stage startups. SparkLabs runs a 15-week placement program for early-stage startups twice a year to lay the foundation for their business.

Applicants can apply if they are new or early-stage startups, regardless of the business field. After the screening stages such as the first document, the second presentation, and the third final evaluation, the final selection team will be decided in June. To apply for participation, fill out the application form for the 23rd placement program on the official website of SparkLabs and submit it by April 28.

Participating startups can receive a variety of support, from mentoring from various experts, including the co-CEO of SparkLabs, who has led the placement program for the past 12 years and passed on their entrepreneurial know-how, to systematic nurturing programs and attracting follow-up investments.

Startups selected for the 23rd placement program are provided with benefits such as ▲ attracting pre-investment of more than 100 million won ▲ one-on-one customized coaching ▲ attending SparkLabs' excellent alumni session ▲ recommending TIPS that can receive up to 700 million won ▲ support for attracting follow-up investment through attending a private demo day attended by major domestic investors ▲ free support for office space.

https://www.techm.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=122131&page=3&total=5448

Mok Seung-hwan, CEO of Seoul National University Technology Holdings, "Venture Investment, Grit is the Key"

Mok Seung-hwan, CEO of Seoul National University Technology Holding Company, whom I met in Gwanak-gu, Seoul on the 25th, cited "Grit" as the most important element of startup investment. CEO Mok believed that failures inevitably come due to the nature of startups with many ups and downs. The key is how to act when you fall. Both Rebellion and Trouble Wallet, which Seoul National University Technology Holdings invested in from the beginning, are the results of evaluating Grit.

Most of the world's top universities, such as MIT and Stanford, have their own venture investment funds. They mainly contribute to university funds and work with university faculty, researchers, and students to find investment targets. The scale is also considerable. Harvard Management Company (HMC), a Harvard venture investment fund, has assets under management of $50.7 billion (about 68 trillion).

https://dealsite.co.kr/articles/120061