Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Wrtn seeks to expand into overseas AI market in 2024
Lee Se-young, CEO of Wrtn Technologies, speaks during a press conference at the Korea Press Center, Tuesday. Courtesy of Wrtn Technologies
By Baek Byung-yeul
Wrtn Technologies, a Seoul-based AI website service platform operator, aims to become a mega platform by offering its services for free and expanding into overseas AI markets such as Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, according to its CEO, Tuesday.
“We aim to become a mega platform next year. Currently, we are on the verge of having 2 million registered users, but we aim to become a service used by 40 million people. To achieve this, we will make our AI service available for free to everyone,” Lee Se-young, CEO of the company, told reporters during a press conference in Seoul. “Since the launch of our platform, we have never charged a fee. I want to declare once again that our services will remain free, as some might be concerned about transitioning to a paid model in the future.”
Wrtn has been providing various AI services to users since its foundation in 2021 by processing various generative AI services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
“Our goal for this year is to achieve an MAU (monthly active users) of 1.5 million and we are about to reach a goal of garnering 2 million in total registered users,” Lee said.
Sharing his views on the generative AI market, the CEO said that the first phase, which was driven by competition among developers creating large language models, has come to a close.
"I believe the second phase has begun. This year has seen a significant increase in the number of new startups. There has been much development in related applications and infrastructure, and in the second phase, we will see the Cambrian explosion of generative AI. Numerous models will emerge, and the generative AI market will grow," he said.
"I often get asked who I think the ultimate winner in this market will be. At Wrtn, we believe that platform players, rather than those who create generative AI directly, will be the winners. And when a mega platform emerges, the third phase will begin."
Regarding overseas expansion, the CEO said that the firm's goal is to become the leading generative AI platform for Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Wrtn established a local corporation in Japan last month and currently has an MAU of about 30,000. The company added that it plans to boost that number to 1 million next year.