KB Financial Group Coexists with Startups... 22 More Companies Selected for KB Starters

A Total of 133, 175 Business Partnerships, and 55.3 Billion KRW in Cumulative Investments
Providing Various Supports for Startup Growth Including Office Space, Consulting Services, and Collaboration with Affiliates

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sunmi] KB Financial Group announced on the 19th that it has additionally selected 22 startups with high future growth potential through the ‘KB Starters (startups nurtured by KB Financial Group) first half recruitment.’ With this, the total number of KB Starters, which challenge the creation of innovative services based on KB Financial Group’s nurturing and collaboration, has increased to 133.

The 22 new KB Starters are innovative companies competing with differentiated business models and technological capabilities in fields such as smart cities, global markets, digital content, and risk management. Startups related to ESG (environment, social, governance), which KB Financial is continuously promoting, were also selected, including ‘Ninewatt’ (energy saving for buildings), ‘Worksmate’ (reducing social costs through non-face-to-face job matching), and ‘FiveSense’ (supporting infant development).

Among the 22 companies, the highest-rated startup was ‘Washiswat’ (mobile laundry agency service), which has innovated the laundry industry, traditionally focused offline, into a non-face-to-face online service through process automation and logistics system advancement. KB Financial plans to cooperate in enhancing service completeness by supporting payment platforms.

The AI technology startup ‘MoneyBrain’ (deep learning technology related to voice and video synthesis) also received high evaluations and joined the KB Starters lineup. MoneyBrain, which commercialized real-time video synthesis for the first time in the world, recently launched an AI service for deepfake video verification and is leading efforts to realize ethical responsibility related to AI. KB Financial will collaborate with them in the non-face-to-face financial services sector utilizing artificial intelligence.

KB Financial provides various support programs not only for collaboration with KB Starters to build the number one financial platform but also for mutual growth. Startups can use the startup residence space located near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, and when traveling abroad, they receive benefits to use WeWork offices worldwide. Additionally, consulting services in various fields such as accounting, legal, and patents, as well as investments according to growth stages, are also available.

A KB Innovation Hub official said, “Support for innovative companies is based on Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu’s management philosophy that investment in innovation is an investment in the future, and we are providing various support for startup growth, including investment, commercialization, and expansion of global networks.” He added, “In particular, we will provide more growth opportunities to startups that create and spread social value to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem.”

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