Kakao Investment draws 122 AI startup applications, up 85% from its first cohort

More AI research teams will have a chance to win startup support through Kakao Investment’s second program cohort, after applications rose to 122 from 66. The company said on November 2 that it was increasing award slots from five to eight, with potential investment and projects with Kakao affiliates to follow selection.

The roughly 85% increase brings 56 more teams into the applicant pool for Kakao AI Dot Set Sail. Run jointly by Kakao Investment and startup support unit Kakao AI Dot, the program seeks promising AI technologies and ideas at four South Korean science and technology institutes, then supports startup formation and commercialization.

Those institutions are the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). The program connects their research-stage work with investment reviews and opportunities to test technology in a business setting.

Eight awards, followed by separate business decisions

Kakao Investment will hold final investor presentations and an awards ceremony at Kakao AI Campus on November 10, 2026. Eight winning teams will be selected there. The expanded prize pool is divided across three award categories, with one grand-prize recipient receiving the largest individual award, according to the prize breakdown published by DigitalToday:

• Grand prize: 30 million won for one team.
• Excellence awards: 10 million won each for two teams.
• Encouragement awards: 5 million won each for five teams.

Teams can propose technologies or business ideas connected to participating affiliates, including Kakao AI, KakaoBank, Kakao Mobility, Kakao Entertainment and Kakao Pay. They can also choose their own topics.

The first cohort’s route from research to business

Kakao Investment attributes the greater interest to investment and business partnership results from the first cohort, which held its awards round in January.

The company says four of the five first-cohort winners secured investment: Anybridge AI from KAIST, Blackbox from UNIST, Glossory from GIST and Symphobrose from DGIST. The fifth winner, KAIST’s PAI Research, was close to signing an investment agreement.

Blackbox developed AI technology that turns webtoon intellectual property into video. It completed a paid proof-of-concept project with Kakao Entertainment and attracted follow-on investment, Kakao Investment said.

Two other first-cohort winners also drew follow-on backing from outside investors: Anybridge AI, which develops AI infrastructure software, and Symphobrose, which holds AI-based spatial technology.