NEW YORK — On the 21st, marking the United Nations International Day of Peace, humanoid robots in spacesuits performed tightly synchronized dance routines at the Loft and Garden, the rooftop terrace of Rockefeller Center in New York. Local influencers could not take their eyes off the machines as they moved to Rosé of Blackpink's "APT." and Psy's "Gangnam Style" like real K-pop stars. Galaxy Corporation, the startup behind the event, had also staged a flash mob in the middle of Times Square on the 19th, deploying 17 robots to deliver a message of "One World, One Peace."
Choi Yong-ho, 37, chief executive of Galaxy Corporation, said in an interview with The Seoul Economic Daily that the company had created Korea's first virtual alter-ego character when it was founded, and moved into the robot performance business with the arrival of physical artificial intelligence. Introducing a robot modeled on his own likeness named "Scofield Stein," Choi said the response from American children to the New York flash mob had been especially strong, adding that the shared imagination of children worldwide gave the company confidence the format would work in any country.
Founded in 2019, Galaxy Corporation is a talent agency whose roster includes the singers G-Dragon and Taemin, the actor Song Kang-ho and Lee Jung-hoo, the Major League Baseball player. The company started with 1 million won in capital but has raised about 200 billion won in investment to date after recently being valued at more than 1 trillion won. Six years after its founding, it posted revenue of 298.9 billion won and operating profit of 12.5 billion won last year. Last month it opened a complex cultural venue called Galaxy Robot Park in Seoul's Gangdong district, drawing crowds with permanent humanoid robot performances. Choi said some of the agency's artists had agreed on a non-commercial basis to have robots made in their likeness, and that the company expected to unveil one such robot each month. He said a second Robot Park would open in Dubai within this year, with venues in the United States and Japan to follow in three to six months.
Choi also disclosed that the company, which had initially been preparing for a KOSDAQ listing, recently changed course and is now pursuing an initial public offering in the United States. In the first half of this year, Nasdaq Vice Chairman Bob McCooey and New York Stock Exchange Vice Chairman Michael Harris visited Galaxy Corporation's offices and expressed strong interest in the company's combination of entertainment and robotics. The plan is to list Korean depositary receipts on the domestic market once the U.S. listing succeeds. Choi said the company had originally intended to offer the robot performances free of charge on the assumption that demand would be limited, but after hearing from U.S. exchange officials that the business looked promising, it began selling tickets and now draws as many as 1,000 visitors a day. Children, he said, will watch content they enjoyed 10 or 100 times over. He added that the latest performance grew out of a casual suggestion from McCooey that the company try a flash mob in Times Square, and that Galaxy Corporation would select and announce its U.S. IPO underwriters late this year or early next year.
