Artificial intelligence (AI), a major component of the wave of technological innovation, showed rapid progress since the 2010s. Countries around the globe are sparing large efforts to foster AI industries. Endeavor of the South Korean government is also strong in order to become an AI technology powerhouse. Each local government is also devoted to fostering the AI industry, by supporting particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or startups.
AI Yangjae Hub was established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in December 2017 as a special cluster for growing creative talents, innovative companies, and promoting exchanges. AI Yangjae Hub, as reflected in its name, specializes in cultivating and promoting the AI industry.
It is located in Yangjae R&D campus. Yangjae district is 10 minutes away from Gangnam and Yeoksam districts which are known for high concentration of wealth, finance and business, and 15-20 minutes away from Pangyo district which is emerging as a new IT techno valley. It is also surrounded by gorgeous green areas, including Yangjae citizens’ forest and Umyeon mountain. There are several research institutes nearby which are run by large conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, LG energy solution, and KT Corporation. It will be scaled up as a global cluster by attracting more domestic and foreign universities, research institutes and companies related to future information technology industries such as AI and big data.
In a conversation with Los Angeles Times Asia Journal, the director of AI Yangjae hub, Jong-yung Yoon, explained major programs and his vision. According to the director, as of June 2021, Approximately 88 SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and start-ups are stationed in AI Yangjae Hub. The center leases cozy workspaces for them at low rents, which is also equipped with venues for open communication, collaborative spaces, meeting rooms, rest lounges and several office equipment and services. Actually, being offered a workspace on an affordable rent in Yangjae district is a quite big benefit for startups. Director Yoon explains that he thinks support for startups with weak financial status starts from securing stable and comfortable working conditions.
Tenant startups can experience management support programs for better business capability including consulting for tax affairs, accounting and intellectual property rights and can participate in the attraction program for investment and funding. Mentoring program will be operated by global expert consultation groups who can give advice for settling optimized localization strategies. A networking program is also operated with experts from global leading companies, such as Google, Microsoft and NAVER.
Furthermore, the center helps startups cover the cost of high-performance computing infrastructure which are necessary for AI R&D but highly expensive for individual startups, including cloud computing servers.
Even though your company is not stationed in the center, you can be offered this support when your company attains membership from the center. There are 50 to 60 membership companies as of now, and the director plans to increase the number of members.
AI Yangjae Hub also provides professional education courses; from basic education for non-majors or students, to special education for fostering talented workforce. It is open not only to companies but also to the public through pre-registration.
AI technology has the potential not only to affect industrial sectors but also to solve many issues facing our society such as public health, welfare, education, and security. Korea aspires to narrow the gap between leading countries, such as the US, China, and the European Union, greatly by 2030.
The important step towards this would be to support creative and innovative AI SMEs and startups. AI Yangjae hub would play a crucial role for the development of the AI industry in South Korea. Director Yoon showed his vision to make the AI Yangjae hub as a platform or footing for Korean AI companies to scale up to the global stage. As the Seoul metropolitan government plans to develop Yangjae as an artificial intelligence industrial complex, the potential scalability of the center is expected. He concluded his talk saying that he will make great strides to scale the center so that AI comes to mind when people around the globe think of Yangjae.
Here below are three remarkable startups which are supported by the center.
AI-Based Healthcare Device & Solution for Better Sleep : LUPLE Inc.
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do for your health. The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends adults to get seven or more hours of sleep per night for the best health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, according to the CDC, nearly one-third of adult Americans say that they get insufficient sleep, and the CDC even went so far as to call the situation an epidemic. Not getting enough sleep can negatively impact your health, happiness, and longevity. Sleep deprivation has also been linked to the development and management of a number of chronic diseases and conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression, according to the CDC. What do you think you should do if you don’t want to lie staring at the ceiling everynight any longer?
Here is one Korean company that originated from the idea of improving the quality of sleep: LUPLE Inc. The company has researched ways to deal with sleep problems or people lacking light due to longer hours of staying indoors. Finally, it launched a smart gadget named ‘Olly’ for getting a good night’s rest as well as for better quality of life by using HCL (Human Centric Lighting) and artificial intelligence technology.
Olly offers a sunlight solution to make you sleep well and have an active day with biorhythm-friendly light and optimized application upon algorithm. It took the Innovation Award at the 2021 CES. The product is currently available on Amazon US and Shopee and scheduled to be available in Japan soon after July. LUPLE Inc. continues to develop more advanced products adapting cutting-edge technology for better-quality life.
Solution for Effective AI Modeling and Data Management Service: SmartMind Inc.
SmartMind Inc. in South Korea provides an artificial intelligence platform for integrated digital marketing and advertising, AI modeling and digital transformation for enterprises. The company developed various specialized AI algorithms.
The algorithm named ‘THANOS’ by the company provides an out-of-box tool for AI modeling and data management service for any vertical applications such as marketing, advertising, smart factory, game development, and pharmaceutical research. ‘THANOS’ drastically reduces the size of the raw data required for the AI modeling, maximizing the speed of repetitive modeling and deriving insight in real-time. When performing AI modelings with massive amounts of structured or unstructured data, it can accelerate machine learning (ML) training, which takes hours to hundreds of hours. It remarkably reduces time to market from data to insight, providing a source of competitive edge for enterprises.
‘LIGHTHOUSE’ is also a software as a service (SaaS) platform which provides AI transformation and data related services. Clients also have options to use vertical business applications such as marketing and digital ads solutions. According to the explanation of the company, many clients have already achieved cost savings and increased sales through the solution. With the latest edition of LIGHTHOUSE, you can experience the easy-to-use dashboards, providing integrated data visualization for digital advertising performance.
SmartMind Inc. will continuously add more patents related to AI and big data to secure further technological competencies and to provide the best experiences to clients.The company said that any talk with entrepreneurs who are seeking a performance boost via AI transformation would be welcome.
Decorate your home virtually using ‘Archisketch’: Archidraw Inc.
As the time spent indoors is increasing due to the pandemic, people are getting interested in interior-improvement. However, everyone must have experienced difficulties while decorating the interior or furnishing. You might have been a little hazy on whether the furniture you are looking at in the offline or online store would be well-matched with your house or office. You might also have experienced that furniture you chose and brought home might not have been as good as you thought.
Archidraw Inc. developed artificial intelligence (AI) technology which allows you to check styles of your own space through online experience. The core technology of Archidraw Inc. enables auto-conversion from 2D to 3D in order to build your own floor plan. Anyone can easily get photorealistic images drawn into 3D models through the web or an application. ‘Archisketch’ creates five different results with a single 3D model: Floor Planner, Panorama 3D, 4K rendering, 360 HD viewer, and AR viewer. You can build a house virtually and decorate it yourself to predict which wallpaper or furniture will go well with your house when using the cloud home-furnishing platform. You can freely place the furniture you want in a virtual space.
The company also designed an AI algorithm which helps you when choosing interior design with your picks. It will give you some recommendations for furniture arrangements. The products shown in the platform service are actually being sold in various brands, so you can even check the expected estimates. Not only interior experts but also anyone who is not confident in decorating their homes can experience more convenient home furnishing.
Kayla Hong
Asia Journal
