KAIST has established itself as Korea’s representative startup cradle by registering an annual average of 112 startups in the recent four years, The number of startups that have been listed during the period stands at a combined 20.
KAIST said on April 14 outcomes of the restructuring and the operation of programs designed to invigorate startup, implemented since President KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung took office, had been apparently translated into its startup achievement index.
Statistics, compiled by KAIST, showed that faculty startups stood at 11 in 2021, 16 in 2022, 10 in 2023 and 10 in 2024.
Startups launched by students, including graduates, numbered 125, 117, 79 and 83, respectively.
If and when startups, launched by faculty members, graduates and students, are combined, an annual average number of startups is translated into 112 during the four-year period.
Among the listed startups are Rainbow Robotics, Fiberpro, NBT, Amosense, Plasmapp, Lunit, Suresoft Tech, Curiox Bio Systems, Kornic Automation, Enjet and Hideep.
Cumulative startups, launched by KAIST faculty and students, stood at 1,914 as of the end of 2023. They posted 94 trillion won in combined assets, 36 trillion won in annual sales and 61,230 employees.
KAIST side said, “If the corporate values of major startups are combined, the startup ecosystem will be worth more than 10 trillion won.”
KAIST has greatly pursued institutional reform to boost startups since 2021. KAIST has simplified faculty startup deliberation and president’s approval procedures and would-be startup students are allowed to go on a leave of absence for an infinite period instead of the limit of the four semesters.
KAIST has also strengthened startup support programs. In a representative case, there is the “Fast Prototyping Program,” which made its debut in 2023.
The program is designed to support the producing of prototype items in a format of offering production costs through connectivity of outside experts.
It has curtailed the period for producing prototype items from an average of two years to six months, and sixteen startups have so far benefited from the program.
A success story in focus is Rainbow Robotics. The startup, led by KAIST Humanoid Robot Research Center, was launched by Emeritus Prof. Oh Joon-ho, the developer of Korea’s first two-leg humanoid robot. Rainbow Robotics, has been expanding business areas through research and development of a variety of robot platforms, such as collaborative robots, mobile robots and four-leg walk robots since its inception in 2011.
The startup was listed on the KOSDAQ and its current capitalization stands at 5 trillion won.
KAIST President Lee said, “It is significant for KAIST members to realize their research through startups, thus contributing to state and society and establishing a virtuous cycle of helping its fiscal self-sufficiency, and KAIST will accomplish these core tasks and contribute to making Korea an economic power.”
A view of ‘KAIROS’ (KAIST AI Robot Orchestration Systems), the world’s first unmanned factory run by AI. (Photos: KAIST)
World’s First AI-Managed Unmanned Factory Implemented
KAIST announced on March 23rd that Professor Young Jae Jang's team from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering has constructed ‘KAIROS’ (KAIST AI Robot Orchestration Systems), a physical AI testbed that integrates and controls heterogeneous robots, sensors, facilities, and digital twins into a single system.
KAIROS is a 100 percent unmanned factory platform based on physical AI and is the first integrated testbed of its kind in Korea, developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).
It is particularly noteworthy as a domestic integrated solution aimed at exporting “Dark Factories” in the future.
The most significant feature of KAIROS is its structure, which integrates and controls various factory equipment through a single AI agent-based Operating System (OS). While existing factory automation was operated around individual devices, KAIROS integrates Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), humanoid robots, collaborative robots, and automation facilities into a single intelligent platform.
Through this, the concept of ‘Physical AI-based factory operation’—where the entire factory is operated like a single AI system—has been realized.
The core of this testbed is the 100 percent domestic integration of the entire process from sensors and control to data processing.
By integrating key elements of a Dark Factory—including logistics robots (AMR), OHT, 3D shuttles, humanoid robots, collaborative robots, industrial sensors and PC controllers, wireless charging systems, digital twins and simulations, and AI-based integrated control and safety management systems—using domestic technology, the project has replaced factory automation equipment and software that were heavily dependent on foreign technology and laid the foundation for a ‘K-Manufacturing Factory Export Model.’
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