Korean startups have been proactively stepping up their global expansion game. This week Kakao Entertainment’s startup venture Radish acquired a Wuxiaworld, a web-novel platform, with the aim to enter the North American market. Korean startup, UPRISE, Inc., launched its crypto roboadvisor service HEYBIT’s global version.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government prepares with Korean startups to go to the world’s biggest “Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022,” in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, British helicopter operator Bristow Group Inc. orders electric air mobility aircraft being jointly developed by South Korea’s Hanwha Systems Co. and US Overair. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announces new overseas campus in New York to support talent and help Korean startups to enter the global market.
Kakao Entertainment acquires fantasy platform Wuxia World through its subsidiary Radish
Kakao Entertainment, which recently announced a ‘new global vision’ aimed at strengthening the North American and ASEAN markets, will acquire Wuxiaworld, the world’s largest ‘Asian fantasy’ web novel platform, through Radish. This acquisition is a strategic card launched by Kakao to enter the North American market.
Jinsoo Lee, CEO of Kakao Entertainment, said, “Kakao Entertainment has proven its unique success equation, such as premium IP, advanced platform, and marketing specialized in Story IP, through successive successes in Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan. We will focus on the growth of the ASEAN market and especially North America, which has a story IP triangular formation including Tapas, Radish, and Wuxiaworld, will become a major base.” He added, “With a strong influence in the United States, we will build webtoons/web novels as a global mainstream, so that more writers will advance into the global market and the creators and the platform will grow together.”
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will participate in the upcoming “Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022,” which will be held from Jan. 5 to 8 in Las Vegas, with 25 innovative companies based in Seoul.
Watch news: https://t.co/yioWdZpyaU#ISeoulU #Seoul pic.twitter.com/n4OwZyVsvS
— Seoul Government (@Seoul_gov) December 16, 2021
British helicopter operator pre-orders ‘Butterfly’ air taxis being co-developed by Hanwha
British helicopter operator Bristow Group Inc. has pre-ordered about 20-50 electric air mobility aircraft being jointly developed by South Korea’s Hanwha Systems Co. and U.S. Overair, according to industry sources Friday.
Overair, the California-based air taxi startup, signed a memorandum of understanding with Bristow on Thursday (local time), to collaborate on the development and commercialization plans for “Butterfly,” an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, or “flying taxi.”
Bristow said in a press release it will work with Overair to “develop an operations development framework focusing on vehicle design considerations and key performance parameters,” among others.
Hanwha Systems, the defense and ICT unit of Hanwha Group, invested 30 billion won (US$25.3 million) in Overair in 2020, which made the company its largest shareholder and a co-developer of Butterfly.
Unveiling the mock-up of Butterfly in November last year, Hanwha said it will offer the highest level of safety and efficiency as an urban air mobility (UAM), also known as an “air taxi.” The UAM has also emerged as the next-generation mode of transportation due to its zero carbon emissions.
HEYBIT goes global with its alpha-seeking crypto roboadvisor
As part of its effort to make the investment in cryptocurrency easier, safer and more affordable for everyone, a Korea-based startup, UPRISE, Inc., has launched its crypto roboadvisor service HEYBIT, previously provided only in Korea, for global audience on April 8, 2020.
HEYBIT’s trading bot monitors the crypto market 24/7 and automatically trades for the user when the algorithm sees positive signals for market entry based on data analysis. In most other existing services, users have to go through bot configurations and asset allocations by themselves, which complicated the investment process. On the other hand, HEYBIT users only need to select bot strategy (safe/balance/challenge) based on their risk preference.
HEYBIT aims to seek alpha (active return) by beating the market return. HEYBIT’s strength lies not only in its stable performance but ultimately in its risk management in the highly volatile cryptocurrency market. Even in the recent market downfall, it has limited the loss to -1.2%p whereas simply holding would have resulted in -40.6%p loss during Feb. 16, 2020 to Mar. 16, 2020 like many other assets.
KAIST to build global campus in New York for first time as Korean univ.
South Korea’s prestigious research-oriented university Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will establish an overseas campus in New York to nurture global talents and play a role as a gateway for Korean startups to enter the global market.
KAIST president Lee Kwang-hyung said last week that the school will open a global campus in New York which will accommodate both Korean and international students. It will be the first overseas campus established by a Korean university.
Lee said that New York, one of the most competitive cities in the world, will be a testbed for the school’s international operation before adding a new campus in Silicon Valley. It will take two to three years to open the school, he said.
