Unrivaled Technology in Autonomous Driving and Virtual Reality Simulation
Major Domestic Corporations Including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor
Technology Special Listing Pursued Under Hana Financial Investment's Lead
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] Simulator specialist company Innosimulation is making a second attempt at an initial public offering (IPO).
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 9th, Innosimulation signed a listing sponsorship contract with Hana Financial Investment and has begun preparations for listing. To re-pursue the listing, Innosimulation recently recruited former Mirae Asset Securities ECM (Equity Capital Market) head Ki Seungjun as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Vice President Ki said, "We will undergo a technology evaluation this year and start efforts to promote the company's competitiveness and value based on that."
Joonhee Cho, CEO of Innosimulation, said, "I first connected with Vice President Ki in 2016, and I believe he not only has expertise in the financial investment industry but also understands our company culture well," adding, "While the IPO is not the end, we expect him to play a key role at this essential stage for the company's development."
Innosimulation is a venture company founded in 2000 in a laboratory at the Graduate School of Automotive Engineering at Kookmin University. CEO Cho is a former automotive researcher who worked at automotive parts company Mando. While attending the Graduate School of Automotive Engineering at Kookmin University with company support, he began developing vehicle simulators. Over the past 22 years, Innosimulation has built technology and experience as a partner in the simulation field for Hyundai Motor Company. Currently, it is recognized as the unrivaled number one company in the automotive simulator market.
The company has expanded its vehicle simulator technology to apply not only to automobiles but also to railroads, industry, defense, and medical fields. These include advanced mobility simulation, extended reality (XR) unmanned remote driving (multi-type heavy equipment virtual training systems), XR virtual training (high-speed train simulators, defense mock training), XR entertainment, and metaverse business (3D virtual space modeling). They provide solutions useful for industry and safety, such as systems that allow testing of vehicle, train, and aircraft accidents in virtual spaces that replicate real environments, and systems that remotely control dangerous explosion operations within virtual spaces.
Major clients include Hanwha Defense, Hyundai Rotem, and Hyundai Doosan Infracore. The company also supplied VR motion seats to Samsung Electronics through an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) method. Recently, it supplied a high-performance simulator capable of autonomous driving tests in virtual spaces to the Korea Expressway Corporation. This high-performance simulator is known to be owned by only three companies worldwide, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Korea Expressway Corporation. Chinese completed vehicle manufacturers are also among its clients.
CEO Cho said, "Simulators can be used in areas where direct human experience poses safety issues or high costs, such as autonomous driving tests," adding, "The era of digital verification in virtual spaces has arrived, and Innosimulation is technologically prepared for the advent of the metaverse era."
Innosimulation has received love calls from numerous institutional investors, including venture capitalists, for its technological capabilities in the simulator sector. Its first funding was in 2011, issuing 2 billion KRW of convertible bonds (CB) to Daesung Venture Investment. In 2015, Wonik Investment Partners (1.5 billion KRW), Smilegate Investment (975 million KRW), and Shinhan Capital (1 billion KRW) acquired Innosimulation’s redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS). Among these, Shinhan Capital’s old shares were purchased by Hyundai Technology Investment.
In 2016, it raised a total of 5.5 billion KRW from Shinhan Bank (2 billion KRW), Albatross Investment (1.5 billion KRW), Surim Venture Investment (1 billion KRW), and Daesung Venture Investment (1 billion KRW). The investment was conducted through a common stock capital increase.
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