Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
Startups benefit from Dinno Lab's test bed
Infosonic CEO Cho Hoon-taek demonstrates how the company's proximity data transmission technology using inaudible sound works, at Woori Bank's Dinno Lab in Yeouido, Seoul, May 29. Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
What startups need most is a test bed through which they can test their technology and receive feedback, according to those in the field.
“Because the finance sector is highly conservative, companies have a lot of doubt about new technology,” Infosonic CEO Cho Hoon-taek said. “The first question they ask is if we have a reference.”
“This is what frustrates tech startups, because the first key step for us is to be able to try out our technology. This is the starting point, after which we can improve features through feedback, but there are few opportunities to do this.”
This is a key form of support Dinno Lab and other similar fintech fostering initiatives by other financial groups offer.
And this is what prompted Infosonic to join Dinno Lab's program in April.
Infosonic offers mobile payment and authentication services using near-field data transmission technology through inaudible sound transmitted between mobile phones. This works through Infosonic's application on mobile phones, which all have a microphone and speaker.
The company signed a contract with Japan's largest internet-only bank Seven Bank, which is set to introduce Infosonic's services in between September and October this year.
“We were lucky with Seven Bank because they reached out to us first, as they were looking for specific technology,” Cho said.
He said tests showed Infosonic's data transmission technology through sound is superior to QR codes because reception is more accurate. QR codes can be affected by factors including light reflection, screen brightness, and hand tremors.
Cho said Infosonic is the most competitive among tech companies incorporating the same technology because of its superior recognition speed, error-detecting algorithm and price competitiveness.
“We have an overseas reference, but we want to work with more financial firms here by earning recognition through tests,” Cho said.
Dinno Lab enables the tech companies to test their services with Woori Bank's mobile application.
“It is difficult to get people to try out our services by ourselves. With the help of banks we can do this by having bank customers test our technology,” he said.
Connecting tech firms with venture capital and helping them network are other forms of support Dinno Lab is offering.