"We are planning to reorganize our business into three major axes. One is the data-based large-scale language model (LLM) and small-scale language model (SLM) business, and the other is the AI business in the industrial and consumer sectors."
CFO Lee Sang-min said this while introducing Crowdworks' business blueprint. The goal is to provide AI that can be used in work and daily life, not artificial intelligence (AI) that is vaguely mentioned.
The CFO, who is an accountant, said, "While performing audits and services for several companies, I felt the charm of the information technology (IT) industry and entered the industry." He worked at Dokdoki Mobile and Diger Company and served as CFO of Posbank. He joined Crowdworks in 2022 and was in charge of human resources and finance, leading the company's KOSDAQ listing last year.
Crowdworks is pursuing a transformation from a data specialist company to an AI tech company before and after its KOSDAQ listing. Open source such as Meta's 'Llama' Based on the Foundation Model (FM), we are focusing on the LLM business by directly building an LLM suitable for the corporate environment.
There are several companies in Korea that are building LLMs. Among them, Crowdworks is drawing attention for its direction. Crowdworks invested 2 billion won in Sizzle, a manufacturing execution system (MES) solution company, and signed a business agreement to promote joint manufacturing AI business. This is a rare case of advancing into the manufacturing industry beyond the information technology (IT) field.
MES is software (SW) used to modernize factories. Foreign companies such as Siemens, SAP, and Dassault Systèmes dominate the market, but Sizzle recorded sales of 19 billion won through its MES solution last year. Crowdworks plans to launch X-MES, which introduces its generative AI to Sizzle's MES, within this year.
The CFO said, "There are many domains that require AI. However, among them, we judged that the field where the visible ROI is measured by introducing AI is manufacturing. This is because you can see at a glance how much the cost is reduced compared to the invested budget."
They are also collaborating with 'INEEJI', founded by Professor Jaesik Choi of KAIST. INEEJI, an industrial AI company, provides process efficiency and automation solutions to companies in the steel, cement, transportation, petrochemical, and power generation industries.
He said, "The key is collaboration. We have entered an era where one company cannot do everything. We have made 'Industrial AI', which focuses on the manufacturing industry by collaborating with various companies, not just Sizzle and INEEJI, one of the core axes of our business."
Following the LLM business and Industrial AI, another axis that they have put forward is Consumer AI. It is similar to the Industrial AI business in that it expands its territory through partnerships rather than directly entering the market. The difference is that it collaborates with companies that provide services to general users.
Crowdworks' first partner for consumer AI is Haimaru Photo. Haimaru Photo is a company that provides offline photo booths and Maru AI, a photo/video-based SNS. Its goal is to provide AI technology that can be experienced not only by corporate customers but also by ordinary people.
The CFO said, "Recently, skepticism that AI cannot make money has emerged. However, this is natural. This is because users are not ready to spend money on AI yet." He added, "In order for AI to spread further and generate profits, we need to provide services that users can directly experience. This is why we are focusing on industrial/consumer AI that can be used in actual work environments or daily lives."
