KB Financial Expands Nurtured Startups to 85 Companies... Cumulative Investment Reaches 33.6 Billion KRW

KB Financial Group Expands KB Starters from 76 to 85
Total of 114 Business Partnerships and Cumulative Investment of 33.6 Billion KRW with KB Starters

KB Starters candidate companies are conducting proposal presentations via video conference, introducing their companies and technologies.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] KB Financial Group announced on the 19th that it has newly selected nine startups with high future growth potential as KB Starters (startups nurtured by KB Financial Group) through the 'KB Starters First Half Regular Recruitment.' With this, the number of startups nurtured by KB Financial has expanded from the existing 76 to 85.

The nine new KB Starters were selected through a rigorous screening process including document review, remote interviews, and presentations. By sector, the selected startups include data analysis startups such as 'PosiCube,' 'Fortytwo Maru,' 'DataKnows,' and 'SoftLunch,' which possess artificial intelligence-related technologies, as well as startups in authentication, remittance, and web technology fields such as 'The Coder,' 'Moin,' 'SensStone,' 'Aditor,' and 'Ebenesel K.'

The selected KB Starters can move into a dedicated startup space located near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam-gu and receive consulting in various fields such as accounting, legal affairs, and patents. In addition, through KB Innovation Hub, KB Financial Group’s fintech lab, they will receive priority support for scale-up through organic collaboration with KB Financial Group affiliates, as well as stage-based investments through KB Financial Group’s CVC fund.

Through such full-scale nurturing and collaboration by KB Financial, KB Starters continue to grow steadily. To date, they have conducted a total of 114 business partnerships with KB Financial Group affiliates, and the total investment amount by KB Financial Group has reached 33.6 billion KRW.

KB Financial Group evaluation staff are conducting remote assessments while listening to video presentations from KB Starters candidate companies.

Among KB Starters, the '10-10 Club' startups that have achieved investments of over 1 billion KRW and more than 10 partnerships from KB Financial Group affiliates include 'FlyHigh,' a startup specializing in security authentication technology, and 'AgileSoda,' a startup with machine learning-based data analysis and artificial intelligence technology. These are representative cases where KB Financial’s continuous efforts to nurture startups are gradually bearing fruit.

KB Securities, KB Insurance, KB Life Insurance, and KB Capital have collaborated with 'FlyHigh' to reduce cumbersome tasks such as document issuance and submission and simplify authentication procedures, significantly enhancing customer convenience and operational efficiency.

'AgileSoda,' based on its highly versatile technology, is collaborating on data analysis solutions and services with KB Kookmin Bank, KB Kookmin Card, KB Insurance, and KB Life Insurance. Under KB Financial’s support, it has achieved remarkable growth, recording an average annual sales growth rate of 150% and an employment growth rate of 135% over the past five years until last year.

A representative from KB Innovation Hub stated, "Support for innovative companies is an investment in the future based on Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu’s management philosophy. We plan to actively support excellent technology startups cooperating with KB Financial Group to grow into unicorn companies. By actively utilizing the remote screening method conducted for the first time this time, we will do our best to support promising startups located in remote areas such as provinces or overseas to participate more easily and realize their dreams."

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