D2 Startup Factory
Scope
Date
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Korean startups
Korean learning platform Elice raises $14.9mn from Vertex
Elice Inc., a South Korean startup offering an all-in-one digital learning platform for teachers and corporations, will transform into an artificial...
Jan 17, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Hyundai sells Chongqing plant at $227 mn for China restructuring
Hyundai Motor Co. has sold its plant in Chongqing for $227 million as the leading South Korean carmaker continues restructuring its business to surv...
Jan 17, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Korea’s Kia to set up sales unit in Thailand; EV plant an option
South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Corp. plans to establish a sales subsidiary in Thailand as part of its electric vehicle push in the...
Jan 16, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Mergers & Acquisitions
Orion to buy control of biotech startup LegoChem for $415 mn
South Korea’s snack and confectionery maker Orion Group has agreed to buy a controlling stake in LegoChem Biosciences Inc., a Korean biotech s...
Jan 15, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korea’s unicorn startups fly high as IPO plans revived
South Korea’s unicorn startups, or venture firms with a corporate value of at least 1 trillion won ($760 million), are poised to return to the...
Jan 12, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
SK Networks invests $19 mn in AI startup Upstage
South Korea's SK Networks Co. announced on Friday that it has invested 25 billion won ($19.02 million) in the domestic artificial intelligence (AI...
Jan 12, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean innovators at CES 2024
Hyundai, Samsung-backed startups vie for spotlight at CES
LAS VEGAS – At CES, big tech names often take center stage but this is also a dream place for underdogs to become rising stars with unconventi...
Jan 11, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
Upstage installs Solar in KakaoTalk AI services
South Korea’s artificial intelligence (AI) tech startup Upstage announced on Thursday that its small language model (SLM) Specialized and Opti...
Jan 11, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
LG Uplus invests $7.6 mn in 42Maru
South Korea’s LG Uplus Corp. announced on Sunday that it has invested 10 billion won ($7.6 million) in 42Maru, a domestic language AI startup....
Jan 08, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Tech, Media & Telecom
LG to inject $700 million in startups in West Virginia
CHARLESTON, WV – LG Electronics Inc. will form a fund with the State of West Virginia to inject $700 million over the next five years to foste...
Jan 04, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korean semiconductor startups shine in venture downturn
South Korean startups in the semiconductor, eco-friendly and electric vehicle battery sectors succeeded in attracting investors in the second half o...
Jan 03, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Digital healthcare, robot, AI chip startups among VCs’ 2024 top picks
Startups that specialize in digital healthcare, robots and artificial intelligence chips are among South Korea-based venture capital firms’ to...
Jan 03, 2024 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Hyundai-invested SES to provide Li-Metal battery B samples, eyes UAM
SES AI Corp., a high-performance battery maker backed by several global automakers such as GM and Hyundai Motor Co., has moved one step closer to co...
Dec 13, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Hyundai Movex to supply smart logistics for Hankook Tire US plant
South Korea’s Hyundai Movex Co., the logistics automation solutions affiliate of Hyundai Group, secured a $82 million contract to equip Hank...
Dec 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Corporate investment
SK Networks to accelerate AI-led, startup investments
SK Networks Co. will accelerate its transformation into an artificial intelligence-led investment company from a general trading firm, its President...
Dec 08, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Bio & Pharma
Celltrion, Cyron to develop multi-specific antibody new drug
South Korea’s biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Inc. announced on Wednesday that it signed a joint research agreement with domestic startup ...
Dec 06, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
POSCO startup POSCORE wins grand prize at D.Camp All-Star League
POSCORE, an in-house startup of South Korean steel giant POSCO Group, won the grand prize during an annual startup demo day hosted Wednesday by star...
Nov 30, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Korea's startup ecosystem lags behind peers in global investments
South Korea’s startup environment lags behind major countries in terms of global expansion and foreign investment attraction, a report from st...
Nov 30, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
S.Korea’s factory output, consumption dwindle in October
South Korea’s factory activity waned last month, snapping a recovery streak in the previous two months, largely due to a drop in chip producti...
Nov 30, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
KOTRA to support K-startups in European expansion
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on Wednesday the establishment of a South Korean pavilion at the upcoming SLUSH 2023, ...
Nov 29, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Naver invests in AI operations automation startup
Naver D2 Startup Factory (D2SF), a tech startup investment and support project, announced Thursday that it invested in a startup with AI operations ...
Nov 23, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Middle East, land of opportunity for Korean startups
South Korean startups are accelerating their foray into the Middle East, where oil-rich countries are keen to nurture startups with innovative and d...
Nov 22, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Automobiles
Hyundai ushers in future of car manufacturing in Singapore
SINGAPORE – Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday officially inaugurated its first mobility innovation center in Singapore powered by a slew of smart...
Nov 21, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Entertainment
SM Entertainment invests in tech startup, music label
K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment Co. invested 1 billion won ($774,353) in a local app development startup valued at 20 billion won in June 2022 via...
Nov 21, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Hyundai Motor Group spins off three in-house startups
Hyundai Motor Group announced on Tuesday it spun off three in-house startups Eficar, Hcharge Lab, and 3I Solution. Eficar provides a service th...
Nov 21, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Economy
S.Korea turns more upbeat about economic recovery
South Korea is more hopeful about a gradual recovery in the economy, driven largely by revived global demand for its mainstay export semiconductors,...
Nov 17, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Korean startups
Naver-invested Bering Lab tops at Huawei startup contest
South Korea’s artificial intelligence (AI) legal technology startup Bering Lab, with investment from Naver D2 Startup Factory (D2SF), receiv...
Nov 17, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
SK On, BASF tie up for EV battery materials business
SK On Co., the world’s fifth-largest electric vehicle battery maker, and BASF SE, a major global cell materials producer, joined forces for th...
Nov 15, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Artificial intelligence
Upstage to develop math-specific LLM with Qanda
South Korean artificial intelligence tech startup Upstage will challenge global math solver AIs such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Ph...
Nov 15, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)
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Batteries
Korean battery makers’ broad restructuring hits US
SK On Co., South Korea’s No. 3 battery maker, has decided to furlough employees at one of its US battery factories in the state of Georgia to ...
Nov 14, 2023 (Gmt+09:00)