▲AI PRISM* Customized Economic Briefing
*Editor's Note: 'AI PRISM' (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media) is an "AI-based personalized news recommendation and summary service" developed with support from the Korea Press Foundation. It selects and provides six customized news items by reader type.
[Key Issue Briefing]
■ AI Search Paradigm Shift: With the rise of generative AI, the "zero-click" phenomenon—in which two-thirds of Google searches end without a click—has become commonplace. The generative engine optimization (GEO) service market, which is replacing traditional search engine optimization (SEO), is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 34%, from $886 million in 2024 to $7.318 billion in 2031.
■ Medical MyData Blossoms: With the enforcement of the Personal Information Protection Act, the "medical MyData" business—which allows patients to send their treatment records, medication histories, and health checkup results to institutions of their choice—has begun in earnest. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute projects that the health and medical data industry market will reach up to 11 trillion won by 2033.
■ Telecom-Led AI Investment Alliance: SK Telecom (017670) is partnering with Japan's NTT and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom to jointly establish the "IOWN AI Fund" worth approximately $500 million (about 760 billion won). With about 20 global companies, including Sony and Toshiba, showing interest in contributing, SK hynix (000660) is also preparing to join.
[News of Interest to Startup Founders]
1. The Age of Clicks Wanes... 'Hybrid AI Search' Becomes Everyday
- Key Summary: With the rise of generative AI, the "zero-click" phenomenon—in which two-thirds of Google searches end without a click—is spreading, fundamentally reshaping the search ecosystem. According to U.S.-based FirstPageSage, as of April, Google and ChatGPT held search market shares of 77.9% and 17.6%, respectively, with ChatGPT's share more than doubling after lingering in single digits through the end of 2024. As a result, more than half of companies are reducing their existing SEO budget allocations and investing resources in GEO strategies, while Google has launched a sweeping overhaul with hybrid search based on its AI model "Gemini 3.5 Flash." Meanwhile, Naver is advancing its search capabilities through "AI Briefing" and "AI Tab" features, and plans to invest 100 billion won in data partnerships with domestic and international institutions over the next three years.
- Key Summary: Lululumedic, a medical data platform startup founded in 2022, was selected in January this year as a "specialized expert institution for personal information management in the health and medical sector," laying the foundation for B2B, B2H, and B2G businesses. Specialized expert institutions hold the authority to utilize patient data from 47 tertiary general hospitals and 115 general hospitals, and to date only seven, including the Samsung Medical Foundation, the Catholic Medical Center, and Kakao (035720) Healthcare, have been selected. Lululumedic pursues a "private infrastructure provider" model that supplies data and platforms to companies and institutions seeking to develop medical AI services in a SaaS (software-as-a-service) format, and is conducting 16 proof-of-concept (PoC) projects immediately following its selection as a specialized expert institution. It has also built a medical data security system through a closed network configuration in cooperation with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and ISMS-P certification.
3. SKT Forms Cross-Border 'AI Alliance'... Creates 760 Billion Won Fund
- Key Summary: SK Telecom will jointly establish the "IOWN AI Fund" worth approximately $500 million (about 760 billion won) with Japan's NTT and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom, and set up Catalight Capital, a fund management company based in Silicon Valley, U.S., and East Asia. The fund's main investment areas include AI data center infrastructure, AI semiconductors, cloud distributed systems, and inference optimization software, as well as AI service applications in the medical, manufacturing, and finance sectors. SK Telecom also participated as an additional investor in Anthropic's ongoing $65 billion (about 97 trillion to 98 trillion won) Series H funding round. SK Telecom made a $100 million equity investment in Anthropic in 2023, and the industry estimates the value of that stake has since swelled to the trillions of won.
[Reference News for Startup Founders]
- Key Summary: Doosan Robotics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SEA Mechanics, an electric vehicle battery parts manufacturer, to jointly develop an "AI-based collaborative robot deburring (removing residual burrs left after metal processing) automation system." The core of the agreement is a solution in which robots automatically recognize and remove the location and shape of burrs using 3D vision and AI technology, aiming to improve quality uniformity and shorten production cycles. The two companies will first conduct technology verification using eight collaborative robots, then plan to gradually expand the deployment scale to 50 or more units. They also agreed to expand the scope of automation beyond the deburring process to melting and palletizing processes.
5. Unexpected Semiconductor Windfall... Coway Expands Water Treatment Business in U.S.
- Key Summary: Coway Entech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coway, established a local corporation in Indiana, U.S., last April and entered the global industrial water treatment market. This entry came on the back of winning a water treatment contract for SK hynix's U.S. semiconductor plant, with the contract reportedly comparable in scale to Coway Entech's existing annual revenue (about 90.9 billion won). According to Grand View Research, the global industrial water treatment market is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.1%, from $46.13 billion (about 70 trillion won) in 2024 to $71.63 billion (about 109 trillion won) in 2033. Coway Entech plans to use this project as a springboard to expand its water treatment business targeting major semiconductor and manufacturing plants in North America.
6. Rebellions' Middle East Business Stirs Again
- Key Summary: Rebellions, a domestic AI semiconductor startup, is resuming its Middle East business—which had been disrupted by the war between the U.S. and Iran—and restarting its global expansion. Last month, Rebellions appointed Moon Byung-joon, the former chargé d'affaires at the Korean embassy in Saudi Arabia, as a strategic adviser for its Middle East and North Africa business. Rebellions CEO Park Sung-hyun also introduced the company's second-generation NPU (neural processing unit) product "Rebel 100" at a meeting with local venture capital (VC) and software companies during a business trip to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early this month. Rebellions established a local corporation in Saudi Arabia last August, and Park said that Rebellions' NPU is being used to run Aramco's own large language model (LLM). With Middle Eastern companies pouring massive capital into AI businesses and pushing to build large-scale data centers, Rebellions is positioning the Middle East market as a key overseas business hub.
▶Go to article: AA-Rated Corporate Bond Yields Surge to 4.5% Range... Corporate Financing Struggles
▶Go to article: FSS Reviews Compensation for 'Direct Credit Card Payment Phishing' as Well
▶Go to article: Semiconductor Export Value Soars... But Volume Actually Declined
