LG Uplus is actively strengthening its investment in promising domestic early-stage artificial intelligence (AI) startups with advanced technological capabilities, aiming to foster a collaborative ecosystem between large corporations and startups.
Recently, LG Uplus announced on July 10th that it has established a dedicated fund worth 5 billion KRW in collaboration with Bluepoint Partners, a deep tech-focused accelerator. Through this fund, the company plans to invest in four innovative AI startups: Fairy, Lemong, Technometrics, and AIM Intelligence. This initiative is part of LG Uplus’s AI Open Innovation Program, called "Shift."
Launched last year, "Shift" seeks to identify promising early-stage companies in the AI field, supporting their growth through technological collaboration, business partnerships, and direct investments to jointly revolutionize the AI industry ecosystem.
The four startups selected for this round were chosen through the first batch of "Shift," which began in October of the previous year. Fairy, founded by former AI professionals from Google, is developing real-time user information extraction technology for AI agents. Lemong offers an integrated sales and marketing efficiency AI solution for small business owners. Technometrics is automating the retraining process of AI models, while AIM Intelligence is creating a solution to detect andblock security vulnerabilities in generative AI in real-time.
LG Uplus plans to go beyond mere financial investments by actively involving its technology and business divisions in collaboration. The company will support startups through proof-of-concept (PoC) projects, technology integration, and commercialization. It also intends to offer R&D resources and tap into internal organizational expertise to help startups achieve tangible business results.
Earlier, LG Uplus hosted "Shift Up Day" at its Yongsan headquarters in Seoul, where members of the first "Shift" cohort shared their collaboration successes. The event was attended by LG Uplus President Hong Bum-shik, CTO, CSO, Bluepoint Partners representatives, and startup leaders.
Looking ahead, LG Uplus aims to develop an "Open Innovation Platform" centered on "Shift" to connect startups, government agencies, large corporations, and domestic and international partners. This platform will offer comprehensive support across technology validation, commercialization, R&D based on investments, and global market expansion—serving as a catalyst for startup growth.
Additionally, LG Uplus will begin recruiting startups for the second "Shift" program starting from July 10th. Kim Ji-hoon, the company's CSO Executive Vice President, stated, “We will focus on building AI infrastructure and business capabilities to help domestic AI startups grow into globally competitive companies.”
