As South Korea’s technology landscape evolves, the competition in the AI agent market is intensifying. With significant backing from the government and major tech players, the landscape is poised for dynamic shifts. Naver Cloud is currently reviewing its development of AI agents utilizing the open-source platform OpenClo, while global giants such as Baidu, Tencent, and Microsoft are rapidly rolling out their own agent services. This surge is further bolstered by the government’s initiation of the ‘Agentic AI Alliance’, aimed at fostering the commercialization of these technologies.
In a related development, Torder, a leading table-ordering firm in Korea, is grappling with a steep revenue drop of over 20%. This decline has forced the company into significant restructuring as it faces stiff competition from KT’s HiOrder, which has leveraged bundled telecom discounts to secure a substantial market foothold. Torder’s installed units stagnate at approximately 300,000, while KT’s HiOrder has surpassed 200,000 units within three years of its launch, capturing 25-30% of the market. As a result, Torder has cut its workforce from about 300 employees to the low 200s and begun liquidating overseas subsidiaries amid mounting losses.
Meanwhile, the unmanned delivery vehicle sector in China is experiencing a remarkable uptick, driven by Neolix, which has surpassed a cumulative total of 17,000 vehicles. The company targets production of 50,000 units this year, signaling a significant shift towards mass production. The unmanned delivery industry in China reported a 61.5% year-on-year revenue increase, reaching 10.5 billion yuan in 2024. Neolix has notably reduced its manufacturing costs by 40-50% through in-house development of core components, and is eyeing profitability as it expands its reach across 50 cities domestically and into international markets.
Amidst these developments, Naver Cloud’s exploration of OpenClo technology signals a potential shift in the AI agent ecosystem. OpenClo is designed to autonomously execute tasks that typically require external tools, such as sending emails, directly from users’ PCs or cloud environments. As Naver assesses its strategy, security vulnerabilities associated with these AI agents, including unauthorized execution and data leaks, remain pressing concerns. In response, Nvidia and Baidu have introduced their secured versions of AI agents, indicating a collective industry move towards addressing these challenges. The ‘Agentic AI Alliance’ is expected to play a pivotal role in setting technology standards and enhancing security measures.
In another notable development, David Baker, a professor at the University of Washington and a 2024 Nobel Prize laureate, anticipates that generative AI-based protein design will become widely adopted across industries. Speaking at a forum at Yonsei University, Baker highlighted the capabilities of his AI model, ‘RF Diffusion’, which is able to design proteins selectively targeting cancer cells and viruses. He expressed optimism about developing nanomachines capable of targeting tau proteins, a factor in Alzheimer’s disease, though he cautioned about the lack of investment in non-medical sectors, which may hinder the technology’s broader applicability.
In the payment sector, Kakao Pay has distinguished itself by joining the x402 Foundation, a next-generation web payment protocol initiated by the Linux Foundation. Becoming the first South Korean payment company to do so, Kakao Pay’s involvement positions it within a collaborative framework that includes major global players like Coinbase and Google. This protocol aims to enable AI agents to execute stablecoin payments seamlessly, marking an important step in the evolution of digital payment infrastructures.
Finally, Toss Place, part of Viva Republica, has issued its first corporate bond worth 100 billion won (approximately $74 million) as it accelerates preparations for an initial public offering (IPO). Despite strong performances from Toss Bank and Toss Securities, Toss Place has reported significant losses, raising concerns about its impact on the parent company’s valuation as it navigates through capital impairment challenges.
As the AI and technology sectors continue to evolve, the interplay between innovation, regulation, and market dynamics will be crucial in shaping the future landscape of these industries. The government’s active involvement through initiatives like the ‘Agentic AI Alliance’ and the responses from tech companies indicate a robust framework for fostering growth while addressing challenges associated with technological advancements.
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