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Allganize AI Wins Top Prize at Korea Conference 2025 LA-based event connects Korean startups with global investors; winner aims to become Korea’s Palantir
The ‘Korea Conference 2025,’ which supports the global expansion of promising South Korean startups, was held in Los Angeles (LA), the United States, on the 19th of last month, local time. The annual event invites promising startups, global investors, and corporate representatives for a ‘pitching session,’ and this year, ‘Allganize AI,’ a provider of customized business automation solutions for enterprises and institutions, won the top prize.
The ‘Korea Conference,’ held aboard a yacht at Marina del Rey Harbor in LA, marked its fourth iteration this year. The event was established in 2022 by Jenny Joo, a Korean-American financial investment expert, to support promising South Korean startups. It facilitates the entry of Korean startups into the U.S. and global markets by connecting them with investors and global corporate representatives. Over 120 pre-selected participants attended this year’s event. A source from the Korea Conference explained, “While many networking events attract hundreds to thousands of people, larger scales make it harder to build close connections. Gathering a small, vetted group is more likely to yield meaningful results.”
The conference’s ‘highlight’ was the pitching session by startup representatives. ‘Letitu,’ an edutech company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to provide career and academic counseling for students; Korea F&B Partners, which reinterprets traditional Korean alcohol in a sophisticated, wine-like style; ‘Allganize AI,’ offering customized business automation solutions; and ‘GuardianAI,’ which analyzes industrial sites and designs safe environments using AI, presented their business goals and strategies.
After experts and attendees reviewed the presentations, they voted for the most promising company. The award went to ‘Allganize AI,’ which stated its ambition to “become Korea’s Palantir.”
Representatives from startups that participated in last year’s Korea Conference also attended. They shared their achievements and offered insights to this year’s pitching participants. Lee Dong-heon, CEO of Asleep, said, “Last year, the company nearly collapsed, but thanks to investors and the Korea Conference, we stabilized our finances. Through the conference, I learned that the most important thing in business is the customer.”
Jenny Joo, chairman of the Korea Conference, remarked, “Marina del Rey, where the conference is held, abbreviates to ‘MDR.’ I hope those who pass through this conference will succeed and support one another through investments and collaborations. Just as Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and other PayPal co-founders—who started as a startup in the late 1990s—formed the ‘PayPal Mafia’ by maintaining close ties for decades, I look forward to an ‘MDR Mafia’ emerging.”
She added, “Leveraging my 30 years of global financial networks, my mission is to connect and support rising startups with the right people at the right time.”
