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The Pickool
@pickool.bsky.social
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Curating the latest in tech, business, and startup breakthroughs from South Korea and Japan. Your window into Northeast Asia's innovation landscape.
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KT Genie Music launches the first conversational AI music platform in South Korea, powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI, with a patent pending. #MusicTech #TechNews #AI #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/kt-genie-mus...
KT Genie Music Launches AI DJ Service in South Korea First
KT Genie Music debuts AI DJ conversational music service on Genie 6.0 platform, first among Korean streaming services using Azure OpenAI technology.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM
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South Korea's #semiconductor exports reached a record $15.1 billion in August (+27.1% YoY), driving the 7th consecutive monthly trade surplus of $ 6.51 billion. #TradeData #SouthKorea #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/south-korea-...
South Korea posts $6.5B trade surplus on record semiconductors
South Korea reports $6.51B August trade surplus as semiconductor exports hit record $15.1B. Exports rise 1.3% to $58.4B despite regional challenges.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:54 AM
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Yanolja's EEVE ROSETTA reduces AI translation costs by 50% through parameter reduction, supporting over 10 languages with a commercial license.

#AI #Translation #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/yanolja-laun...
Yanolja Launches Open Source Translation AI Model
South Korean travel tech company Yanolja releases EEVE ROSETTA, a 4-billion parameter translation AI model on Hugging Face platform.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:51 AM
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MUSINSA Q2 revenue up 30.7% to $282M, net income jumps to $30M vs $5.4M prior year.

#Retail #eCommerce #SouthKorea #Earnings

Link: www.thepickool.com/musinsa-q2-r...
MUSINSA Q2 Revenue Jumps 31% to KRW 377.7B, Posts Record
South Korean fashion platform MUSINSA reports Q2 2025 revenue of KRW 377.7B (US$ 282M), up 31% YoY with record quarterly results.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:47 AM
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SK hynix deploys an industry-first High-K EMC in mobile DRAM, boosting thermal conductivity by 3.5x and reducing thermal resistance by 47% for AI smartphones. #Semiconductors #AI #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/sk-hynix-unv...
SK hynix Unveils Advanced Heat-Dissipating Mobile DRAM
SK hynix becomes first to supply mobile DRAM with High-K EMC material, improving thermal conductivity 3.5x for AI smartphone apps.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:44 AM
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LY Corporation launches AI review summaries for 46,000 Japanese restaurants after finding 60.3% of users struggle with review overload.

#TechNews #Japan #AI #Innovation

Link: www.thepickool.com/yahoo-japan-...
Yahoo Japan Launches AI Restaurant Review Feature
LY Corporation introduces AI technology to automatically summarize restaurant reviews for 46,000 establishments across Japan via Yahoo Search.
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September 1, 2025 at 3:41 AM
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Toss Q2: 41% revenue growth to $493M, $62M operating profit. 25M users = 60% of the South Korean population—profitable fintech at scale.

#Fintech #Growth #Earnings

Link: www.thepickool.com/toss-q2-reve...
Toss Q2 Revenue Hits KRW 668B, Posts US$42M Net Profit
Toss reports Q2 revenue of KRW 668B (US$493M), up 41% YoY, with net profit of KRW 57B (US$42M) driven by user growth.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:45 AM
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LY Corp (LINE and Yahoo! Japan) cuts store approvals to 4.2% (vs 11.2% YoY) as AI monitoring reduces credit card fraud by 41.2%, transaction troubles by 74.6%.

#ecommerce #Safety #AI #Japan

Link: www.thepickool.com/yahoo-shoppi...
Yahoo Shopping cuts approvals to 4.2% with AI security.
LINE Yahoo reports Yahoo Shopping store approval rates fell to 4.2% in H1 2025, down from 11.2% previous year, amid AI fraud detection.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:41 AM
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South Korea unveils KRW 420T ($310B) national plan: targets 3rd global AI ranking, 5th largest economy by 2030—123 policy measures. #SouthKorea #Korea #Government

Link: www.thepickool.com/south-korea-...
South Korea Unveils 123-Policy Framework in Five-Year Plan
South Korea unveils 123-policy framework spanning economic development, technology, and social welfare in comprehensive five-year national plan.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:34 AM
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Yanolja H1 transaction volume surges 67% YoY to $12.1B, international share rises to 77% vs 63%. 200+ countries.

#TravelTech #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/yanolja-h1-2...
Yanolja H1 2025: KRW 16.4 Trillion Transaction Volume
Yanolja reports KRW 16.4 trillion transaction volume for H1 2025, with international transactions at 77% and revenue of KRW 462.7 billion.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:31 AM
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SK Hynix launches GaiA AI platform with agentic tech for chip mfg. Autonomous systems beta since July, orchestration by 2025.

#SemiconductorAI #AI #Chips #TechNews

Link: www.thepickool.com/sk-hynix-lau...
SK Hynix Launches AI Platform for Semiconductor Manufacturing
SK Hynix announces GaiA AI platform launch with agentic technology for semiconductor operations, outlines development roadmap through 2025.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:31 AM
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SOCAR turnaround: Q2 operating profit KRW 1.8B vs 6.7B loss YoY. Revenue/vehicle +13.1% despite a 16.6% smaller fleet.

#Mobility #TechNews #Earnings #SouthKorea

Link: www.thepickool.com/socar-report...
SOCAR Reports Q2 Profit Despite Revenue Drop
SOCAR Inc. posts KRW 1.8B Q2 operating profit despite 3% revenue decline, driven by improved car-sharing utilization rates.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:24 AM
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LY Corp launches Yahoo! Travel app as Japan domestic travel grows: 119.64M travelers Q1 (+6.0% YoY), spending +15.5%. 17k+ properties.

#TravelTech #TechNews #Japan

Link: www.thepickool.com/ly-launches-...
LY Launches Yahoo! Travel Mobile App in Japan
LY Corp launches Yahoo! Travel mobile app connecting users to 17,000+ Japanese hotels with PayPay integration and booking discounts.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:23 AM
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KT Corp (NYSE: $KT) partners with Viettel (138M customers, $7.34B revenue) to develop AI systems for Vietnam's healthcare, defense & government sectors. #AI #Telco #Cooperation

Link: www.thepickool.com/kt-viettel-a...
KT Viettel AI Partnership Vietnam Language Model Deal
KT Corp and Vietnam's Viettel Group sign AI partnership to develop national language model and expand technology cooperation.
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August 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM
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SK Telecom Q2: Net income plunged 76.2% to KRW 83.2B due to cybersecurity incident costs. The company is investing KRW 700B in security over 5 years.

#TechEarnings #TechNews #Tech #Earnings #Telco

Link: www.thepickool.com/sk-telecom-q...
SK Telecom Q2 profit plunges 76% on cyber costs.
SK Telecom reports 76% Q2 profit drop due to cybersecurity incident costs. AI business grows despite telecom challenges.
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August 7, 2025 at 11:52 PM
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Kakao Q2: Net profit surged 97.2% YoY to KRW 171.8B despite 1.2% revenue growth to KRW 2.03T. Operating profit up 38.8%.

#TechEarnings #TechNews #Tech #Earnings #AI

Link: www.thepickool.com/kakao-q2-ope...
Kakao Q2 Operating Profit Surges 39% on Platform Growth
Kakao Corp reports 38.8% jump in Q2 operating profit to KRW 185.9bn as platform business growth offsets gaming revenue decline.
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August 7, 2025 at 11:49 PM
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LY Corp integrates AI into Yahoo Ads for automatic, quick link generation. 30-use monthly limit per account, powered by OpenAI API. #AdTech #TechNews #AI

Link: www.thepickool.com/ly-corporati...
LY Corporation Adds AI Feature to Yahoo Ads Platform
LY Corporation launches AI-powered quick link asset generation for Yahoo Ads Search Ads platform, offering automated content creation for advertisers.
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August 7, 2025 at 11:46 PM
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NAVER Q2 2025: Net profit jumped 49.8% YoY to KRW 497.4B, revenue up 11.7% to KRW 2.9T. Operating margin: 17.9%.

#TechEarnings #TechNews #Earnings #AI #Naver

Link: www.thepickool.com/naver-q2-ear...
NAVER Q2 Earnings: 11.7% Revenue Growth, Strong Profit
NAVER Corp reports Q2 2025 revenue of KRW 2.9 trillion, up 11.7% YoY. Operating profit rose 10.3% with growth across commerce, search.
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August 7, 2025 at 11:45 PM
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Coupang Q2 FY2025: $8.5B revenue (+16% YoY), returns to $31M profit from $105M loss. Operating income jumps $174M to $149M.

#tech #technews #ecommerce #Earnings

Link: www.thepickool.com/coupang-post...
Coupang Posts 16% Revenue Growth, Profit Return Q2
Coupang reported Q2 2025 revenue of $8.5B, up 16% YoY, returning to profit with $31M net income after prior year loss.
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August 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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Kakaopay Q2 2025: Operating profit turnaround to KRW 9.3B from KRW 7.3B loss. Digital finance revenue up 81.8% to record KRW 100B.

#Fintech #Earnings #TechNews #SouthKorea

Link: www.thepickool.com/kakaopay-pos...
Kakaopay Posts KRW 238.3B Q2 Revenue, Turns Profitable
Kakaopay reports 28.5% revenue growth to KRW 238.3 billion in Q2 2025, with operating profit of KRW 9.3 billion as digital finance surges.
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August 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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LY Corp launches AI search on Yahoo Japan desktop after 82% mobile user satisfaction. Uses Google Cloud's Vertex AI technology.

#AISearch #AI #TechNews #Tech

Link: www.thepickool.com/ly-corp-laun...
LY Corp Launches AI Search Features on Desktop
LY Corporation expands AI-powered search capabilities to desktop Yahoo Search platform, following successful mobile launch with 82% user satisfaction rate.
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August 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
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Naver acquires 70.5% stake in Wallapop for €377M, gaining control of Spanish C2C platform with 19M monthly users. Expands to Europe. #TechAcquisition #eCommerce #Startup #TechNews #Tech

Link: www.thepickool.com/naver-acquir...
Naver Acquires Wallapop for €377M in Major C2C Deal
Naver Corp acquires 70.5% stake in Spanish C2C platform Wallapop for €377 million, expanding its global marketplace presence to Europe.
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August 5, 2025 at 7:35 AM
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South Korea commits $237M to develop "sovereign AI" models, selecting five teams led by LG AI Research, Naver, NC AI, SK Telecom, and UpStage to build a domestic AI ecosystem. #SovereignAI

Link: www.thepickool.com/south-korea-...
South Korea Selects 5 Teams for AI Foundation Model Project
South Korea selects 5 teams for AI foundation model development with KRW 328 billion funding. Naver Cloud, Upstage, SK Telecom among winners.
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August 4, 2025 at 4:58 PM
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AI chipmaker FuriosaAI secures $125M to scale its RNGD chip, claiming 2.25x greater LLM inference efficiency vs. GPUs.

#AIHardware #Chips #Startup #Tech #TechNEws #AI

Link: www.thepickool.com/s-korean-ai-...
S. Korean AI Chip Company FuriosaAI Raises $125M
FuriosaAI raises $125M for AI inference chips with 2.25x better performance than GPUs. Korean semiconductor company valued at $735M.
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August 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
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LY Corp now uses OpenAI to summarize user reviews for 47,000 facilities on Yahoo Search, tackling information overload reported by 63.6% of users.

#AIinSearch #AI #Tech #TechNews #Search #Japan

Link: www.thepickool.com/yahoo-search...
Yahoo Search Launches AI Review Summary Tool
Yahoo Search introduces AI review summarization for 47,000 Japanese commercial facilities, helping users quickly assess facility information.
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August 4, 2025 at 4:51 PM