RYUTN Technologies, ImpactiveAI, and Others
"Supplying Venture Capital for Future Strategic Industries"
On July 14, IBK Industrial Bank announced that it will invest 10 billion KRW in FuriosaAI, a leading fabless (design) company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.
The bank explained that this investment is intended to strengthen the foundation for self-reliance in advanced technologies and enhance the global competitiveness of future strategic industries, in line with the government's policy to foster national strategic technologies with a significant technological gap.
AI semiconductors have emerged as a core technology in the global market, driven by the rapid proliferation of generative AI.
FuriosaAI has drawn attention as a symbol of domestic technological independence, having rejected acquisition offers from major U.S. big tech companies and pursuing independent development and mass production of AI chips.
IBK Industrial Bank recognized FuriosaAI's technological capabilities and growth potential from its early stages, providing tailored financial support at each stage, including startup loans, venture capital investment, and technology finance.
In particular, through the financial sector's first combined loan and investment product, 'IBK Venture Loan,' the bank helped address liquidity gaps prior to mass production contracts, laying the foundation for the company's growth.
FuriosaAI has raised over 150 billion KRW in investment. IBK Industrial Bank expects that such strategic investments will serve as a catalyst for strengthening the competitiveness of 'K-Semiconductors' and enabling the global advancement of Korea's AI semiconductor industry.
Kim Intae, Deputy President of the Innovation Finance Group at IBK Industrial Bank, stated, "We will do our utmost to support the birth of second and third FuriosaAIs," adding, "We plan to continue supporting technological innovation and the development of the startup ecosystem as a growth partner for promising venture startups."
IBK Industrial Bank provides a variety of financial and non-financial services to discover and nurture venture startups with high growth potential.
From 2023, the bank has supplied 2.5 trillion KRW in venture capital over three years. Since last year, it has also introduced a public offering investment program and is creating funds that focus on government strategic industries such as AI.
Through its flagship venture startup incubation platform, IBK Changgoong, the bank has discovered and nurtured over 1,000 innovative startups, about 15% of which are promising AI startups. The bank has invested in companies such as RYUTN Technologies, which operates a large language model (LLM)-based generative AI platform, and ImpactiveAI, which possesses AI-based demand forecasting technology.
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