Korean firm raises $18m to expand ‘AI super app’ in Middle East, SEA

The Wrtn team / Photo credit: Wrtn

Wrtn Technologies, an AI firm from South Korea, pegs itself as an AI super app. It helps users with tasks such as editing and conducting research, and it can also act as a creative partner and developer.

One of its features is AI Search, which enables users to ask about the latest news, providing real-time information. The platform also generates images as well as customized AI characters.

Recently, the company secured a pre-series B funding round of 25 billion won (US$18.3 million), led by Hong Kong-based equity firm BRV Capital Management, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with Wrtn founder and CEO Lee Se-young.

The round also saw participation from prior investors like Z Venture Capital, Capstone Partners, and the Industrial Bank of Korea.

Founded in 2021 by Lee, Wrtn merges large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4, Stable Diffusion 3, and Anthropic’s Claude 3. The Korean startup generates its revenue from advertising and premium content fees, Lee said in the interview.

The company focuses on users under 30 – including high schoolers, college students, and other young adults – with about 70% of new users belonging to this group.

Wrtn has served 3.7 million users in its home country as well as Japan so far. It aims to expand into the Middle East and Southeast Asia, while keeping its services free for most users, the report noted.

While South Korea’s chip stockpiles have dwindled, the AI industry is still progressing, with generative AI projected to reach US$710 million in market size this year.

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Currency converted from South Korean won to US dollar: US$1 = 1,368 won.