5 Years, 3.9 Billion Won Invested in 39 Locations... Naver Becoming a Startup Cradle

Expansion of Areas Such as Facial Recognition, Precision Positioning, and Digital Healthcare

Nota participated in CES 2020 held in Las Vegas, USA on the 7th / Photo by Nota

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] #1 The artificial intelligence (AI) technology startup 'Nota' participated in CES 2020 held in Las Vegas, USA, earlier this month and received favorable reviews from attendees by showcasing real-time object and facial recognition technology. This technology can recognize objects and faces in real time on the device itself without passing through a cloud server. The first investor in Nota was Naver's startup accelerator 'D2SF.' Since 2015, Naver has been selecting and investing in startups with proprietary technology through D2SF, and Nota was the first startup that D2SF invested in, back in August 2015. Based on D2SF's investment and support, Nota has grown continuously for five years, and last year secured an investment of around 1.5 billion KRW from Stonebridge Ventures, enabling it to stand on the global stage.

#2 The indoor precision positioning technology startup 'Polariant' attracted attention in the startup industry when it was acquired by Socar in April last year. Polariant was the second startup acquired by Socar, following VCNC, the operator of Tada. Polariant's proprietary 'PLS' technology uses the polarization phenomenon of light to precisely measure the three-dimensional position and orientation of objects. With this technology, Polariant received its first investment from Naver D2SF in December 2015, and in 2018, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Naver Labs to develop new GPS technology. Currently, Socar aims to develop spatial intelligence technology together with Polariant, in addition to indoor precision positioning technology.

◆150 Billion KRW Invested in Startups Over 5 Years = According to Naver on the 20th, Naver D2SF has discovered and invested in 39 technology startups since its launch in May 2015. It has become a catalyst for domestic technology startups over the past five years. The investment scale is about 300 to 500 million KRW per startup, totaling approximately 15 billion KRW invested in 39 startups. A Naver official explained, "Since we invest in very early-stage startups with small scales, if the initial investment amount is too large, it could be considered an acquisition rather than an investment."

Among the startups discovered by Naver D2SF, three have successfully exited (investment recovery), including Polariant, 'CompanyAI,' and 'V.DO.' Most of these are AI-related startups. V.DO, established in June 2017, uses AI to analyze videos such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and golf postures. Naver Webtoon acquired V.DO on the 14th to enhance its competitiveness in webtoons through advanced video analysis technology. CompanyAI was also acquired by Naver after its AI-based conversational engine technology was recognized, and its core technology is currently applied to Naver's AI platform 'Clova.' A Naver official said, "It has only been five years since we started investing in technology startups, so there are no cases of company listings yet, but exit cases through mergers and acquisitions are steadily emerging. We expect that successful startup IPO cases will appear as more time passes."

◆From AI to Healthcare Fields = Naver's technology startup investments have expanded from AI technology to the bio field, including genetic testing and dementia diagnosis. Recently, Naver D2SF made new investments in four digital health startups: 'iCrozin,' 'SoundGym,' 'Answer,' and 'HureyPositive.' These invested companies are developing products and technologies that help not only the general public but also chronic disease patients maintain healthy daily lives. As Naver's technology startup investments diversify in this way, the domestic technology startup ecosystem is becoming richer. A startup industry insider commented, "Investors often hesitate to invest because it is difficult to understand the technologies held by AI and other technology startups. Active support from companies like Naver will greatly help the development of the startup ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.