Second round of investment executed in 'Everspin', and pilot service linked with CLiP launched with 'OneTwoCM'

KT is actively investing in and conducting joint projects with companies nurtured by the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy Innovation (Director Lim Deok-rae, hereinafter the Gyeonggi Center), and is stepping up to support the commercialization of startups in earnest.

KT announced on the 17th that it has decided to invest 2 billion won in 'Carby,' a developer of camera video-based advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and a company nurtured by its Gyeonggi Center.

Kabi is a graduate of the first cohort of the Gyeonggi Center’s incubation program, ‘K-Champ Lab,’ and has received support including office space, various mentoring programs, and global expansion programs. As a member of the ‘GiGA IoT Alliance,’ which supports KT from the discovery of IoT-related startup ideas to commercialization, Kabi has been pursuing joint business with KT in the field of vehicle IoT, one of the new growth engines.

In addition, at 'CES 2016', Kabi exhibited its safe driving support solution at the Samsung Electronics Strategic Innovation Center (SSIC) booth, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for business cooperation with KT and plans to launch a joint product within the year. Through this process, Kabi achieved the feat of attracting a total of 6 billion won in investment from institutional investors, including KT, by being recognized for its growth potential and technological competitiveness as a strategic partner to strengthen KT's business capabilities.

KT is also making significant efforts toward joint commercialization with other companies it has nurtured. 12CM, a developer of smartphone-exclusive stamp and authentication solutions, is participating as a business partner of KT, having launched a pilot O2O authentication stamp service linked with KT's mobile wallet service CLiP starting in February.

Meanwhile, the KT-DSC Creative Economy Youth Startup Fund, established by KT in May 2015 for the purpose of investing in youth startups, is also seeing active investment, with cumulative investment exceeding 13 billion won. The fund is helping startups grow rapidly, including by recently making a second investment in Everspin, a mobile security authentication platform developer and a company nurtured by the Gyeonggi Center, following its first investment last year.

KT is pursuing a win-win model through startup support, joint commercialization, and investment. In particular, regarding global expansion, it is providing support not only to companies nurtured at the Gyeonggi Center but also to those at centers nationwide.

"Thanks to the support from KT and the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center, we have secured R&D funding and partnered with leading domestic companies, allowing us to fully dedicate ourselves to our business," said Kabi CEO Son Seung-seo. "We will further devote ourselves to development to achieve success in the global market based on our technological capabilities."

Kim Young-myung, Head of KT’s Creative Economy Promotion Team, stated, “Kabi first established a relationship with KT as a company nurtured by the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center, but through various support, it has grown into a partner company that is now pursuing joint projects and has decided to invest.” He added, “We plan to continue fostering outstanding companies expected to create business synergies with KT, and to link business ventures or expand investments in the future.”