The School of Management of Technology at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has announced the inaugural list of “AI Innovation Companies” to promote the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across South Korean industries. A total of 12 companies, including Hyundai Motor, Yanolja, DEEP:NOID, and Toonsquare, have been selected.
This initiative, organized by KAIST’s School of Management of Technology, Graduate School of Management of Technology, and G-School, aims to recognize successful cases that demonstrate how AI technologies are being applied to real-world industries and used to create innovative business models.
The 12 selected companies were categorized into three groups: AI Innovation Leadership, AI Next Leader, and AI Pioneer.
In the AI Innovation Leadership category, Hyundai Motor, Yanolja, and Samil PwC were recognized.
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Hyundai Motor was highlighted for driving innovation in the manufacturing sector through enterprise-wide AI transformation in autonomous driving, connected cars, and smart factories.
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Yanolja received praise for evolving into a global software platform by applying AI to hotel automation and demand forecasting.
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Samil PwC was acknowledged for its digital transformation efforts in the professional services sector, including financial automation and AI-powered analytics platforms.
In the AI Next Leader category, DEEP:NOID, ACRYL, and Aigen were named. These companies are developing AI-powered diagnostic technologies and models, particularly in the healthcare and medical fields.
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ACRYL was recognized for its contributions to the healthcare AI field with platforms like NADIA, and for its strong performance in building scalable MLOps infrastructure through its flagship platform JONATHAN.
The AI Pioneer category featured six startups: Nania Labs, Nearthlab, Innogie, Talos, Toonsquare, and Pundzin. These companies were noted for their original technologies, such as AI-driven industrial solutions, brain aneurysm risk prediction systems, and webtoon creation platforms powered by AI.
The final list was selected by a committee composed of professors from KAIST’s management and engineering schools, followed by a vote from over 320 alumni of the KAIST-Maeil Business Newspaper AI Executive Program.
The awardees will be officially announced at the Maeil Business–KAIST AI Business Forum on May 21. During the forum, Yanolja and Toonsquare will present their innovation case studies, and Lee Dong-soo, Executive Director at Naver Cloud, will deliver a keynote on "The AI Industry Landscape After DeepSeek."
Professor Hyeon-Deok Yeo of KAIST’s Graduate School of Management of Technology remarked, “We will continue identifying outstanding companies with global potential that are leading AI-powered digital transformation (AX-DX), industry innovation, and creativity. Our goal is to discover pioneers that will elevate both industry development and brand value.”
Source: Maeil Business Newspaper (https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/009/0005493028?sid=105)