Digital New Deal Vanguard
Research in AI, Big Data, Chatbots, and More
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Hana Financial Group is establishing a ‘Techfin (Technology + Finance)’ industry-academia cooperation center with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and KAIST.
On the 3rd and 4th, Hana Financial announced that it signed consecutive business agreements with POSTECH and KAIST to actively promote a Korean-style Digital New Deal in the post-COVID-19 era through comprehensive industry-academia cooperation.
This business agreement aims to establish the first multi-major and multi-capability Techfin industry-academia cooperation center in the domestic financial sector, with ambitions to extend from sharing expertise between industry and academia to joint research and development, startup support, and investment.
Hana Financial, together with the two universities, will promote the establishment of a digital ecosystem in various Techfin fields including artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning, big data, chatbots, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and biometric authentication.
They agreed to cooperate in all areas, including joint research for developing digital financial products and services, exchange of technical capabilities and practical experience, introduction of innovative programs for nurturing technical talent, and support and investment in science and technology startups.
To this end, experts, professors, and researchers from the two universities in fields such as computer engineering, computer science, mathematics, industrial engineering, electronic engineering, bio and brain engineering, and AI will participate in interdisciplinary projects without major restrictions.
Additionally, Hana Financial plans to actively utilize Hana Ventures, its corporate venture capital (CVC). They will also pursue business agreements with on-campus startup incubation institutions together with the technology holding companies of each university (POSTECH Technology Holdings, Future Science and Technology Holdings). By fostering and investing in technology-innovative venture companies, they aim to discover science and technology-based prospective unicorn companies (startups valued at over 1 trillion KRW), including digital, bio, and materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) sectors, thereby actively participating in the Korean-style New Deal plan for the post-COVID era.
Kim Jung-tae, Chairman of Hana Financial Group, stated, “Now, as uncertainty deepens due to the COVID crisis, as part of innovation to overcome the waves of change, we will create an experimental ground where the nation’s top science and technology universities and talents can freely challenge and where failure is tolerated. Through this, we will strive to enable substantial innovation both inside and outside the group so that new value and experiences can be provided to customers in the changed environment.”
Kim Moo-hwan, President of POSTECH, said, “This business agreement is meaningful as the first cooperation case in the financial sector of the ‘AI-X’ projects currently being promoted in various fields. Through this, we will work with Hana Financial to contribute to the development of Korea’s financial industry within the Techfin ecosystem.” Shin Sung-chul, President of KAIST, stated, “I hope that the two institutions, equipped with digital financial innovation capabilities, will achieve great results in the Techfin field by closely cooperating to develop and provide new and differentiated financial services based on core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as AI and big data.”
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