In a world driven by AI, the jobs we know today may no longer exist in a few years. But with this change comes the creation of new jobs, greater convenience, and possibly an answer to the societal problems we wrestle with today.

According to McKinsey & Company, at least 70% of businesses worldwide would have adopted at least one type of AI technology by 2030.

However, South Korea aims to be one step ahead of the rest.

Photo credit: sepavo / 123RF

In line with its national strategy for artificial intelligence, the government is supporting the nation’s thriving AI startup scene to give those with innovative ideas a platform to bring these to fruition.

Likewise, the country’s software industry has come together with Naver Cloud, one of the leading cloud solutions providers in the country, to create an ecosystem to drive growth in the sector. Aside from the cloud data analysis platforms it offers, Naver Cloud also provides consulting on AI solutions, enabling companies to leverage new technologies effectively. It’s expanding its services into Southeast Asia, with the goal of bringing its cloud AI solutions to the global market.

Thanks to an abundance of innovation opportunities, generous funding, and a competitive landscape, we’ve seen more South Korean businesses prosper. The country’s startups have raised US$870 million in the first half of 2021 alone – an all-time high for its startup scene.

Taking a closer look at this space, we’re featuring three South Korean startups powering new innovations in AI.

1. FutureMain: predictive maintenance solutions for smart factories

With 36 years of experience as a machine diagnosis engineer, Lee Sun-Hwi, the CEO of engineering company FutureMain, has a clear view of the numerous problems that heavy-industry companies grapple with in machine management.

Lee Sun-Hwi, CEO of FutureMain / Photo credit: FutureMain

One such issue is a reliance on outsourced talent to fix machine faults, which Lee says has led to fewer in-house experts having the skills to analyze and detect early problems.

“Instead of cultivating analyst talent within their own ranks, most chose to use external experts when faults occurred,” Lee explains. “Because of this, basic faults have snowballed into major repair costs and damages for companies – many of which could have been dealt with in house with the right training.”

Combining the big data he collected through his own extensive work history with his mechanical engineering expertise, Lee launched FutureMain to build safer and more comfortable industrial sites for workers.

The company’s predictive maintenance solution, ExRBM, leverages AI to automatically diagnose early-stage faults, alert operators, and suggest corrective measures. This helps companies address these faults at low cost and removes the need for them to manually analyze machine data each day.

Lee knows that the data collected by ExRBM from organizations’ machines is one of the most important resources for their clients. “To allow for the integrated management of multiple factories and facilities in different locations, we decided to migrate to a cloud-based data collection system,” he says.

With Naver Cloud’s support, FutureMain upgraded its solution from being purely “on premise” to also having the capability to be used as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that can be accessed via the cloud, depending on the preference of its clients.

The cloud firm also provided systematic training support to help FutureMain launch its cloud service and acted as an extension to the engineering company’s operations, helping FutureMain with buyer discovery and its expansion into overseas markets.

FutureMain has grown significantly since its early days – it has received over 12 patents, more than eight certifications, and is the only South Korean-made machine management solution to be certified by the government. And the company is only just getting started.

“Through research, development, and global market expansion, we hope to attain an even higher level of growth,” shares Lee.

2. TentuPlay: bringing personalized experiences to gamers

Every gamer is unique. Put two of them side by side, and you’ll see that both have different playing styles and motivations, even when they play the same game. Despite this, most titles don’t tailor their gaming experiences to the individual needs of their players.

That’s where Kwon Hye-yon saw an opportunity for her startup, TentuPlay.

Kwon Hye-yon, CEO of TentuPlay / Photo credit: TentuPlay

“We wanted to increase user satisfaction in the gaming world and make games generally more fun by creating personalized gaming experiences, so that every user’s needs and wants are satisfied,” she says.

TentuPlay uses an AI-powered behavioral economics platform to identify the motivations of users. Depending on these motivations, it can then send recommendations to the player on the best way to level up or even provide different options to play the game. This leads to increased user engagement, retention, revenue, and lifetime value for the game in question.

But TentuPlay hasn’t had the easiest of journeys.

“One of the biggest issues with being a small B2B startup is that it’s difficult to meet with larger corporate customers,” says Kwon.

What changed this was working with Naver Cloud. The cloud fim “helped us connect with various foreign customers despite being a smaller startup,” she recalls.

Since then, TentuPlay has been invited to speak at international game conferences and has been nominated as a finalist in the best tool provider category at the PocketGamer Mobile Game Awards 2021.

And as the concept of a metaverse gains traction, the company is making big plans for the space.

“The metaverse allows users to partake in various activities such as attending concerts, playing games, and shopping. This can lead to users getting trapped in the ‘paradox of choice,’ leading to churn,” says Kwon.

By analyzing user behavior data to identify what they enjoy, need, and want, the firm can recommend content, allowing more users to enjoy the metaverse and participate in the space.

3. Monitor Corporation: efficient medical image diagnosis

As a graduate of computer vision technology, Lee Kyong-Joon (no relation to FutureMain’s Lee Sun-Hwi), CEO of AI-powered radiology tech company Monitor Corporation, saw a pressing need in the medical industry. Every year, the number of medical images that are taken increases significantly, while the number of radiologists with the skills to read these images remained low. This phenomenon became more evident as Lee traveled to the rural provinces of South Korea and to other developing economies in the region.

Lee Kyong-Joon, CEO of Monitor Corporation / Photo credit: Monitor Corporation

To address this talent shortage, Lee launched Monitor Corporation. Its signature product, LuCAS, uses AI algorithms to analyze chest CT scan images and automatically identifies the location and type of disease. These results allow doctors to provide accurate diagnosis for patients more efficiently.

While Monitor Corporation is based in Seoul, it has worked with businesses around the globe, including in places as far away as Brazil, using Naver Cloud’s servers.

“At the end of last year, a company in Brazil contacted us saying that they wanted to try our service, but we were not ready at the time,” shares Lee. “In the process of preparing for the demo, we encountered many technical challenges. Naver Cloud provided quick responses so that we could successfully open the overseas service demo.”

Building solutions on Naver Cloud’s SaaS platform has helped Monitor Corporation establish partnerships with over 20 domestic and foreign organizations – a number that is set to grow.

“​​Based on high-quality medical infrastructure, South Korea is applying cutting-edge AI technologies to the medical market most actively in the world,” Lee says. “We aim to bring these high-quality AI services to the global market.”

Naver Cloud operates the global IT infrastructure and enterprise solution service for South Korean tech giant Naver and its subsidiaries while providing its public cloud service, Naver Cloud Platform, to a myriad of companies and organizations in diverse industries.

Find out how you can scale your business overseas with the power of Naver Cloud by visiting its website.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.