In 2014 The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) will a role out a raft of mid-to long-term software projects to bolster a number of domestic strategic industries. This will be achieved by developing 100 key software platforms for SMEs and foster high-quality human resources by organizing various educational programs. While it is certainly a positive step that the government is supporting these key industries, and is dedicated to bolstering innovation in…

Naver and Daum have made a tentative decision to shell out millions of dollars as a form of self-penance for abusing their market dominance in Korea’s internet portal industry, according to the Fair Trade Commission yesterday. As we have reported several times recently their has been concern voiced about the increasing dominance of the two companies in the Korean internet search market. The money will be spent in ways that benefit Internet…

Last week saw Lee Hae-jin, CEO of NAVER Corp., the country’s largest Internet portal operator, ranked No. 1 among Korean stock-rich business owners, in terms of valuation gains on his stock holdings. The combined value of Lee’s shares rose to 1.1 trillion won (US$1.24 billion), more than a two-fold increase, from 507.4 billion won, posted at the end of December 2012, according to data released by market research firm FnGuide. Global Ambitions:…

Just over a month ago 10 Korean startup teams departed for Singapore on a month-long acceleration program jointly organized by NIPA (National IT Promotion Agency) and beSUCCESS. The teams were based in the well known Singapore startup hub of Block 71, where they were able to tap into the advanced startup community surrounding local stars like JFDI Asia, Singtel’s investment arm Innov8, and South East Asia’s startup media heavyweight, e27 which also…

Korea’s contents industry exports, centering on gaming, is forecast to exceed $5 billion for the first time, an increase of over 10.% on last year. Sales in the sector are also expected to increase by 4.9% from last year, to KRW 90 trillion. The gaming industry will fuel this growth, with figures up 9.9% on last year and is likely to account for 60% of total contents industry exports from Korea in…

Samsung’s 4Q Operating Profit Likely to Fall Short of 10Tn Won Target Amid predictions that Samsung Electronics’ fourth-quarter operating profit will likely to fall short of their target of 10Tn won, the company’s stock price of Samsung Electronics hit a downward slope. Market watchers also predicted that this down-trend would continue into the first quarter of next year. According to financial information provider FnGuide on December 26, the consensus figures for Samsung…

Many had thought that the plethora of law suits that we saw earlier this year between smartphone giants Samsung and Apple has all but disappeared, but now it has emerged that Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone maker, on Thursday suffered a legal defeat against Apple Inc. on its home turf after a local court ruled that Apple had not in fact violated its patents. The Seoul Central District Court ruled…

The growth of South Korea’s smart connected device market is expected to turn negative this year for the first time from growing market saturation, data showed on Tuesday. According to the data compiled by market researcher IDC Corp., the country’s smart connected device market, which includes smartphones and tablet PCs, is estimated at 21.85 trillion won (US$20.78 billion) for the year, down 7.9 percent from a year earlier. In terms of volume,…

지난 11일(목) 종로구 마이크임팩트(대표 한동헌)의 13층 엠스퀘어에서 중소기업청(창업진흥원)의 2013년 K-App 글로벌 마켓 진출지원사업에 참여한 42개 스타트업이 모여 3분 피칭 발표 자리를 가졌다. 이날 피칭은 오는 20일 삼성동 코엑스에서 개최되는 글로벌 케이앱 페스티벌(Global KAPP Festival)에 진출할 최종 20팀을 선발하는 사전 IR 피칭 현장으로 국내외 VC와 퍼블리셔, IT 벤처업계 투자 전문가 20인 이상이 모여 최종 진출팀을 가려냈다. Global KAPP Festival 내실 있는 기획과 콘텐츠로 K-스타트업을 지원한다 – 지난 11일(수) 사전 IR 피칭 현장 들여다보기…

2008년부터, 시작된 인도판 ‘배달의 민족’ Zomato가 최근 Sequola Capital과 지역의 투자가 Info edge로부터 $37M(약370억)의 투자를 유치하며, 글로벌 시장으로의 확장을 꽤하게 되었다. 이번 투자를 계기로 Zomato는 총 $55M(약 550억)의 투자를 유치한 셈이다.  현재 Zomato는 영국을 비롯하여 8개의 시장을 보유하고 있는 데, Zomato의 웹과 어플리케이션에 매월 방문하는 1500만명의 고객의 대부분은 인도시장에서  발생하고 있으며, 이번 투자를 계기로 글로벌 시장 개척을 본격화하겠다는 의지로 풀이된다. Zomato는 다음 개척지로, 브라질과 터키, 인도네시아를 목표로 하고 있는 데, 동종 서비스인…

이제 우리나라 스타트업들과 벤처기업들 사이에 ‘글로벌시장 진출’은 당연한 화두가 되었다. 그 industry를 막론하고 제한적 규모의 내수시장 및 아직까지는 벤처기업에 우호적이라 볼 수 없는 시장의 특성 상 내수시장에서 벤처기업이 일정규모 이상으로 성장하는 것이 매우 어려운 것임을 업계가 경험적으로 깨닫게 되었기 때문이다. 그만큼 반가운 사실 또 하나는, 글로벌 시장에 대한 우리나라 기업들의 관심만큼이나 해외 시장에서 우리나라의 초기 기업들을 보는 시각과 관심 역시 과거와는 비교도 할 수 없을 만큼 개선되었다는 것이다. 바로 어제만 해도 필자는…

스마투스(대표 김문수)의 어학 콘텐츠인 비네이티브(BeNative)가 일본시장에서 순항중이다. 최근 비네이티브는 일본 앱스토어 교육 카테고리 1위를 달성하였는데, 이번 성과를 계기로 중국 및 대만 등 중화권시장 진출 또한 준비하고 있다. 스마투스의 외국어 학습서비스인 비네이티브는 지난 7월 앱스토어와 구글플레이를 통해 ‘원어민이 입만열면 사용하는 필수 영단어’(이하 ‘필수영단어’) 앱을 출시한 이래 3개월 만에 다운로드 20만회를 돌파했다. 약 10,000개의 문장이 담겨있는 원어민인터뷰 영상 속에서 자주 등장하는 동사와 형용사를 정리한 비네이티브의 ‘필수영단어’ 앱은 한국과 일본에서 모두 운영되고 있으며, 출시 이래로…

Bitcoin is changing finance the same way the web changed publishing, and in the wake of its emerging status as a “proper” currency, new ventures are rushing to get in on the action. So too is Korbit, a Korean startup founded by Tony Lyu. There is a Bitcoin craze in Silicon Valley at the moment. Exiting startups in the space are popping up everywhere with Bitcoin startup accelerator Boost VC leading the…

SparkLabs Global Ventures is launching a new $30 million seed-stage fund that will invest in early-stage companies looking to rapidly scale their innovations. The founding partners are Bernard Moon, Net Jacobsson, Frank Meehan, Jimmy Kim, John Lee, and Jay McCarthy.  Bernard, Net and Frank will be the primary operating partners. “SparkLabs Global Ventures was founded on our strong momentum from our SparkLabs accelerator in South Korea, where we have already invested in 16…

Who will come out as a winner in the new autumn version of the smartphone battles? Autumn 2013 will see a string of new smartphone releases, with the race already on. ‘Vega Secret Note,’ the ‘Galaxy Round,’ the ‘iPhone 5S’ and the ‘Vu 3’ will all be released in short succession over the next few months, with an advantageous position in the lucrative Korean market going to the victor. A fierce marketing…

Korea’s President Park has reason to be upset, as Obama allows a ban on some older Samsung smartphones to the US. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, “We express regret over the decision of the U.S. trade representative not to veto the U.S. International Trade Commission’s exclusion order against Samsung.” The selected phones are said to have infringed on two Apple patents (the 949 patent, which deals with commands on…

Ever heard of Pantech? Probably not recently. The struggling tech company recently lost its head, who stepped down after ordering almost 1/3 of the workforce to take a six month ‘vacation’. The company is now hoping to gain some credibility back (from staff and customers alike), with the release of a new 5.9-inch phablet: the VEGA Secret Note. Pantech has posted three consecutive quarters of serious losses starting at 81.2Bn won in…

Samsung releases ‘Galaxy Round’, the first phone with a curved display   The new “Galaxy Round” phone from South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will make its debut in the domestic market this week, the nation’s top mobile operator SK Telecom said Wednesday. The most prominent feature of the latest Galaxy series phone is its curved display. It also features a 5.7-inch screen, the same as the Galaxy Note 3, with a…

Samsung Electronics achieved a record-high performance in the third quarter of this year. Unlike market expectations that the growth of its smartphone business would slow, Samsung sustained a record-breaking pace in smartphone sales. Moreover, its semiconductor and telecommunications business, which slipped to supporting roles, reemerged as one of main actors. The most striking feature in the third-quarter results released by Samsung on October 4 is that its operating profit reached 10.1 trillion…

    Women 2.0 Founder Friday San Francisco (Women 2.0) Date/Time: Fri, Oct 4, 2013 – 6:00PM Location: San Francisco, CA     Silicon Chef: Hardware Hackathon by Hackbright Academy Date/Time : October 5th 9:00am – October 6th 7:00pm Location: San Francisco, CA Startup Socials Party SF October 2013 (StartupSocials) Date/Time: Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 7:00 PM – Friday, October 11, 2013 at 1:00 AM (PDT) Location: San Francisco, CA Discounted tickets for beSUCCESS network…