[Column] The Earnestness of an AI Startup CEO I Met in the US

Last week at the NVIDIA 'GTC 2024' exhibition held in San Jose, California, USA, I met Kim Seong-hoon, CEO of Upstage, an AI startup that usually has low media exposure.

As soon as CEO Kim greeted the reporter, he fired questions like "How do you see the artificial intelligence (AI) market?" and "What kind of AI services do you think are needed?" He was actually turning the questions he should have been asked back to the reporter.

It is unlikely that his intention in asking the reporter was to get the right answers. It seemed more like he wanted to hear various opinions about AI and find a business direction.

The conversation that day was brief, but CEO Kim's face showed earnestness. He stared intently into the reporter's eyes, trying to gain even a small insight.

Since this GTC event was held at NVIDIA's home turf, the biggest beneficiary of AI, major domestic companies and startups all gathered. The city of San Jose itself seemed to exist for the NVIDIA event, as the place was bustling throughout the exhibition period.

CEO Kim's sincerity and earnestness became more understandable as the GTC coverage continued. Behind the glamorous festival was a fierce survival competition. The company officials met here unanimously said that technology levels are changing rapidly, and if you join the trend late, it becomes difficult to grow your business. They also said that this situation is more intense now than in the past, causing the fortunes of companies to change quickly. The Silicon Valley rule has become that once you hesitate, catching up becomes impossible.

The perspective of investment industry workers, who must foresee the growth potential of companies faster than others, was similar. An industry insider said, "If a promising company is a little slow in decision-making, other investors may crowd them out and prevent participation in investment," emphasizing the importance of grasping the rapidly changing industry trends even within a few weeks.

This is not limited to Silicon Valley. The situation is similar domestically as well. Through this GTC event, it was clear that the industry is once again at a turning point with AI-based robots changing the industrial flow. Making business strategies agile and figuring out how to proceed has become an important challenge for each company.

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