AI firm by ex-Naver exec secures $72m for Asia, US expansion

Upstage founders (from left) Lee Hal-Seok, Kim Seong-Hoon, and Park Eun-Jung / Photo credit: Upstage

Despite the decline in overall funding for startups in Asia over the past year, AI has become an outlier and continues to attract investor attention.

Several AI companies in the region have recently announced new funding, including South Korea-based Upstage.

The firm has secured 100 billion won (around US$72 million) in a series B funding round from investors such as SK Networks, KT Corp, Korea Development Bank, and Shinhan Venture Investment, Bloomberg reported.

The fresh raise is almost triple that of the company’s previous round in 2021, where it secured US$27 million in investments from SBVA – then known as SoftBank Ventures Asia – and Company K Partners. SBVA also participated in the new funding round.

Upstage was co-founded in 2020 by Kim Seong-Hoon, previously the head of AI at Korean internet giant Naver Corp, along with Lee Hal-Seok and Park Eun-Jung.

The company offers document processing engines and a large language model called Solar, which can be molded to serve several use cases in ecommerce, legal, healthcare, and other industries.

With the new funds, the company aims to expand its business to Japan, Southeast Asia, and the US.

This month, several AI companies in Asia have announced new funding, including Singapore-based Staple, Mindverse, and Ailytics. Meanwhile, OpenAI also established its first Asia office in Tokyo.

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Currency converted from South Korean won to US dollars: US$1 = 1,399.89 won