KAIST Professor's Startup Secures Over 100 Billion KRW from Nvidia Venture Investment, etc.

KAIST Professor's Startup Secures Over 100 Billion KRW from Nvidia Venture Investment, etc.

"'e-Tube' technology, recognized as an essential element for AI data center infrastructure, attracts investment from Nvidia"

KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) announced on the 23rd that Point2 Technology, co-founded by Professor Bae Hyun-min of the School of Electrical Engineering, who is also the Head of the Startup Center, and graduates, has secured Series B extended investment from NVentures, Nvidia's venture investment arm, and others.

With this investment, Point2 Technology has completed its Series B investment round, totaling 76 million dollars (approximately 100 billion KRW), an investment received for securing personnel and marketing after achieving a certain scale.

The core of this investment is the 'e-Tube™' technology developed by KAIST researchers and owned by Point2 Technology, which is a plastic waveguide-based data transmission technology utilizing radio frequency (RF) signals.

This technology expands the transmission distance by 10 times compared to copper wires, while reducing power consumption and cost by one-third each compared to optical cables. KAIST explained that it is being evaluated as a core technology for next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure by dramatically reducing data transmission latency.

Nvidia directly invested because the technology was recognized as an essential element for implementing future AI data center infrastructure, KAIST added.

CEO Sean Park said, "AI competitiveness is determined by data connection technology between semiconductors," and "Based on this investment, we will collaborate with global partners to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation AI infrastructure."

Bae Hyun-min, Head of the Startup Center, stated, "This case is a representative achievement where original technology developed at KAIST attracted investment from global big tech companies," adding, "We will continue to strengthen support for startups with excellent technology to rapidly advance into the global market."

Meanwhile, the KAIST Startup Center plans to establish a 'Global Growth Acceleration System' to support the global expansion of on-campus startups.

The strategy is to systematically support the scale-up of deep tech startups by linking the entire process from Proof of Concept (PoC) to investment attraction, based on a global investor network.

The KAIST Startup Center has recorded cumulative investment attraction of 3.5 trillion KRW over the past 5 years, with an average of 115 startups annually and an average survival rate of 92% in their fifth year.

As of 2024, there are 1,972 KAIST startups, with total assets of 105 trillion KRW, total sales of 38 trillion KRW, and a total employment of 61,252 people.