InterviewEruty transforms content ecosystem using AI, blockchain

User interface of Eruty’s crowdfunding service / Courtesy of Eruty

Eruty, a content fintech startup powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, is reshaping Korea’s content ecosystem with a unified platform that provides IP valuation, investment matchmaking and copyright settlement.

CEO Kim Yu-sung said the priority of the company, based in Busan, is shifting the longstanding intuition-driven approach to content valuation toward a data-centric model, a change he views as critical to modernizing the traditional content investment market.

“As we examined the Korean content sector in depth, it became clear that many creators continue to struggle with structural constraints despite its enormous popularity worldwide. Key challenges included limited access to investment, a lack of global networking channels and persistent inefficiencies in revenue settlement,” Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times.

“We wanted to resolve these issues by building a technology-driven ecosystem that directly links creators with investors. Our solution uses AI to assess a project’s value and its likelihood of commercial success, while blockchain technology is applied to fully automate and transparently record contracts, transactions and settlements. This framework is designed to establish the trust and clarity that have been missing in the industry," he said.

Eruty’s AI-based content investment engine analyzes market trends by country and genre to determine how well the content being developed aligns with current trends in each target market. It also reviews the creator’s production capabilities and the project’s feasibility.

This combined analysis enables a data-driven measurement of a project’s value and its potential for commercial success, offering a technological breakthrough compared to traditional investment practices that relied heavily on intuition.

The firm’s blockchain infrastructure for contracts, investment processes, settlements and copyright management provides a secure and transparent structure in which every transaction is recorded and stored. By automating the entire workflow, including investment agreements, revenue settlements, transactions and rights protection, the system strengthens the transparency and trust that are fundamental to fintech services.

Eruty CEO Kim Yu-sung / Courtesy of Eruty

“Due to chronic issues in the content sector, including closed investment structures, opaque settlements and unequal revenue distribution, many creators historically had to surrender most of their rights and earnings to secure funding from investors, leaving them with minimal actual profit,” Kim said. “We address these problems by facilitating blockchain smart contracts, which automatically log and execute investments, agreements, usage rights and revenue distributions, making the flow of funds fully visible.”

Kim added, “This ensures a fair allocation of earnings, where investors, creators and companies are compensated according to their actual contributions rather than allowing a few investors to dominate the profits.”

The startup’s blockchain settlement technology was implemented in a national research and development project, where its technical reliability was officially validated. The project confirmed that both revenue settlements and copyright records in the content production process could be managed transparently and securely.

Furthermore, by creating an open investment model that welcomes both global and individual investors, Eruty enables creators who previously had limited funding access to obtain early-stage capital for tasks such as thumbnail design or pilot video production. This system protects creators’ rights and offers investors clear and transparent data, producing tangible outcomes that support the long-term sustainability of the content industry.

In the future, the startup aims to add an investment framework based on virtual assets that will allow global investors to participate with greater ease and scalability.

“This will help build a worldwide investment platform where investors from any region can seamlessly engage in funding Korean content,” Kim said.

Global expansion

In a bid to expand on the global stage, Eruty made consecutive appearances at major international IT events this year, including InnoEx in Vietnam, GITEX Global in Dubai, and SWITCH in Singapore, establishing connections with 11 international partner companies and more than 10 global investors.

Building on these achievements, the company has secured a booth at CES 2026 in the United States, the largest IT exhibition in the world.

“Beyond simply promoting the company, these milestones demonstrate that our blockchain and AI content technologies are recognized as competitive on the global stage,” Kim said. “More importantly, this validates the worldwide influence of Korean content and marks the launch of our journey to positioning ourselves as a central channel that connects markets worldwide and helps Korean content reach audiences across the globe through our fintech platform.”

Kim emphasized that the company’s ambition goes beyond simply promoting Korean content overseas as it aims to create a reciprocal global ecosystem where creators and businesses worldwide can connect to Korea through its platform, while the content they produce also reaches international audiences.

To realize this vision, the company plans to expand gradually, using strategic countries and cities that serve as global hubs.

Initially, it plans to base operations in Busan and Seoul, then establish hubs in Singapore and Dubai to build distribution and investment networks for Korean content across the Middle East and key Asian markets.

In the next phase, it aims to establish a presence in the United States to expand into Europe and North America, covering the broader global content market.

“We aim to partner with various companies and industries seeking global growth through content IPs. Through this approach, Eruty will grow into a global hub and industrial expansion channel, connecting markets and industries via content IP.”