Korean biometric company Alchera preparing for IPO

Various biometrics and big data firms based in Korea are preparing to go public by the end of the year, according to investment banking industry officials.

The news was reported by the Korean Investors’ website earlier this month, and directly names Alchera, the VAIV Company, AgileSoDA, and XIILab.

The new IPO trend would be encouraged by the Moon Jae-in administration and its Digital New Deal initiative.

Developing AI-powered facial recognition technology

Alchera was founded in 2016 by three engineers from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

The company specializes in facial recognition technology based on artificial intelligence (AI).

Alchera is the team behind the photo-editing app SNOW, which uses 3D facial analysis technology to allow for various filters and stickers to be applied on the user’s face.

The Korean firm is working on solutions from both the private and public sector and has so far attracted $10.2 million from Naver Corp, video game studio Smilegate Co., and others.

Alchera, who reported revenue of $2.8 million in 2019, recently collaborated with the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a new passport recognition solution, which has been trialed since July.

The company also uses its AI-powered technology to detect abnormal situations such as forest fires or to locate suspected criminals and their vehicles.

Alchera has also been working on a body temperature measurement system to pair up with its face recognition software in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been deployed in San Jose. The solution can identify people even when they wear a mask.

Big data investments

As far as the other firms are concerned, the VAIV Company (who recently changed its name to Daum Soft) specializes in application software businesses, developing AI data processing and analysis software, as well as behavior analysis software.

The company has recently been involved in the construction of various smart city construction projects in Korea.

AgileSoDA develops algorithm-based technologies and services including reinforcement learning for optimal business decisions. The firm has so far raised 6 billion from BNK Securities, KB Securities, and Hanwha Investment & Securities.

Finally, XIILab focuses on the creation of social network platforms and provides geographical and social data analysis to smartphone users. XIILab reported 7.1 billion in revenue last year, showing promising growth that is now leading to the upcoming IPO.

Article Topics

AI  |  big data  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  IPO  |  Korea  |  startup  |  stocks