[Edaily Marketin Reporter Soyoung Park ] This week (August 10–14), startups across various sectors—including artificial intelligence (AI) data infrastructure, media, diagnostics, and security—secured investments from venture capital (VC) firms and accelerators (ACs). In particular, domestic companies developing core battery materials and working toward mass production attracted market attention by successfully raising large sums of capital.

For example, “Solivis,” a company specializing in sulfide-based solid electrolytes—a key material for all-solid-state batteries—secured 23 billion won in Series C funding. Sulfide-based solid electrolytes are the key materials that facilitate the movement of lithium ions inside all-solid-state batteries. Compared to conventional liquid electrolytes, they pose a lower risk of fire or explosion. With high ionic conductivity and a large contact area with the electrodes, this technology is attracting the most attention in the next-generation battery market.

Additionally, “Cosmos Lab,” a startup specializing in aqueous-based batteries, has secured 22 billion won in a Series A funding round. The company is developing batteries using non-flammable aqueous electrolytes. It is developing energy storage system (ESS) technology for next-generation AI data centers, with the goal of beginning mass production in 2027. Going forward, the company plans to expand its application scope beyond AI data centers to include ESS systems integrated with renewable energy, industrial power storage systems, and distributed power grids.

Solid-State Electrolyte Specialist ‘Solivis’ ‘

Solivis,’ which possesses core solid-state electrolyte technology and mass production capabilities, has successfully raised 23 billion won in a Series C funding round. Participants in this round included Open Water Investment and Sulgi Asset Management. With this, the company has secured a cumulative total of 65.2 billion won in investment since its establishment in 2020.

Along with securing this investment, Solivis was simultaneously selected for the 2026 “Ultra-Leap Global DIPS” and “Unicorn Bridge” programs, both organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS). The “Global Deep Tech Leap” program supports outstanding deep-tech startups in their overseas expansion and technology commercialization. “Unicorn Bridge” is also a government initiative designed to help companies with high growth potential expand their businesses and scale up.

Leveraging the funding and infrastructure support secured through this investment and government programs, Solivis plans to enhance the automation level of its mass production infrastructure for sulfide-based solid electrolytes. The company also intends to diversify its proprietary lineup of high-performance materials to accelerate business collaborations with global battery manufacturers.

Aqueous Battery Startup ‘Cosmos Lab’

Cosmos Lab, a next-generation non-lithium battery cell company, has secured 22 billion won in Series A funding. Institutional investors and strategic investors (SIs) from both Korea and abroad participated in this round. The investment commitment has been finalized, and the final payment is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. The list of investors has not been disclosed.

Cosmos Lab is developing next-generation batteries that utilize water-based non-flammable electrolytes and zinc-halogen-based materials. Unlike existing zinc-bromine flow batteries or vanadium flow batteries, the company has applied halogen reaction technology to an integrated cell structure that does not require an external electrolyte tank or circulation pump. This maximizes energy density and space utilization while maintaining the high safety of aqueous batteries.

Cosmos Lab is conducting integrated development across the entire lifecycle—including materials, cells, and operating conditions—covering the following areas: △cathode △anode △separator △electrolyte △charge-discharge operation technology △cell structure △manufacturing processes. Through this, the company’s strategy is to rapidly transition aqueous zinc-halogen batteries from the R&D stage to high-capacity commercial cells and mass-producible products.

The investment funds will be focused on advancing the technology of aqueous zinc-halogen batteries and establishing a foundation for mass production and global commercialization to address the expanding markets for AI data centers and next-generation energy storage systems (ESS). Specifically, Cosmos Lab plans to strengthen its domestic R&D capabilities to ensure the reproducibility and productivity of its high-capacity cell manufacturing processes. The company will also intensify verification of safety, lifespan, and energy density. It will progressively carry out the testing, evaluation, and certification required for ESS and AI data center environments. By verifying compatibility with modules, racks, and systems, the company intends to establish products and a mass-production infrastructure that global clients can actually adopt.

Enterprise AI Data Infrastructure Company 'Graphai'

Graphai, an enterprise AI data infrastructure company, has secured 17 billion won in Series A funding. This round was led by K2 Investment Partners. A Ventures and JY Investment participated as new investors. Quad Ventures, Kiwoom Investment, and We Ventures—all of which invested in the company’s Pre-Series A round in 2024—all participated in this follow-on investment. With this investment, the company’s cumulative funding has reached 20.6 billion won. K2 Invest explained the rationale behind its investment, noting that it was drawn to the company’s proven execution capabilities—demonstrated by its track record of validating core technologies on the international academic stage and its presence across various industries spanning both open and closed network environments.

Graphai was founded in 2022 by CEO Kim Min-soo, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at KAIST. The company provides the “Akasic” platform, which offers full-stack support for the entire process—from connecting, collecting, and transforming fragmented corporate data to AI inference and agentic AI execution environments. Its flagship product is “Akasic DB,” an AI-native database engine. Specifically, it integrates three types of databases into one: △ a graph database that analyzes relationships between entities, △ a vector database that searches unstructured data based on meaning, and △ a relational database that processes structured data.

Graphai will allocate the investment funds toward: △ the advancement of the Akasic platform; △ the development of new products scheduled for release in the second half of the year; △ expansion into global markets; and △ the recruitment of R&D talent. The company plans to accelerate the transition of projects currently in the pilot phase to full-scale implementation. It also aims to expand its international client base using technologies validated in real-world settings.

Media Tech Company 'New ID'

Media tech company New ID has secured investment from Krit Ventures in its Series B round. In this investment, Krit Ventures acquired new shares worth 1 billion won. Krit Ventures highly valued the company’s competitiveness, noting its position as a key hub that connects K-content intellectual property (IP) holders with global FAST platforms and channels various IPs to supply them to the global market.

New ID independently develops and operates △ a global OTT and ad-supported free streaming service (FAST) distribution platform △ an ad operations and monetization platform △ an AI-based localization platform △ and solutions for building platforms dedicated to automotive and CTV.

With this investment, New ID aims to more than double the scale of its CTV advertising business. The company also aspires to further expand its position as a tech firm that helps not only content partners but also global platforms monetize their services by advancing its proprietary technology platforms and solutions.

Next-Generation In Vitro Diagnostics Platform Technology ‘AllMade’

AllMade, a point-of-care testing (POCT) platform startup, has secured a pre-Series A investment from Kookmin University Technology Holdings and Mineta Brook Ventures. The specific investment amount has not been disclosed. Mineta Brook Ventures recognized the company as a deep-tech biotech firm that combines quantum dot-based high-sensitivity diagnostic technology with market potential in the non-invasive field. The firm also decided to proceed with the follow-on investment based on the company’s high growth potential in both domestic and international in vitro diagnostics markets.

With this investment, Allmade will accelerate the commercialization of its next-generation in vitro diagnostic platform technology—based on the luminescent signals of quantum dots—which has been under development since last year. Quantum dots are ultra-fine semiconductor particles that emit light in various colors depending on their size. The company is pursuing the commercialization of high-sensitivity diagnostic technologies and precision sensing systems that combine these quantum dots with biomaterials. In addition, the company plans to use this investment as an opportunity to accelerate the validation of global market response to its major product lines and the expansion of initial sales.

AI Security Firm ‘StealCut’

StealCut, an AI security firm specializing in blocking and detecting deepfakes, has secured seed funding from Mashup Ventures. Mashup Ventures noted that as major countries have successively enacted AI-related regulations this year, demand for verifying the authenticity of content is growing rapidly. The firm believes that, in the long term, deepfake prevention measures could become a standard feature of digital images. Consequently, it highly evaluated the market outlook and the capabilities of the StealCut team to realize this vision.

StealCut operates “StealCut Protect,” which preemptively blocks deepfake synthesis, and “StealCut Detect,” which identifies images and videos created or manipulated by AI. This differs from existing technologies that merely detect合成 content after the fact. By embedding subtle signals into photos while maintaining the original image quality, it prevents the creation of deepfakes altogether.

StillCut has applied proactive deepfake defense technology—which had previously remained in the research phase—to a commercial environment. The company verified the defense performance across approximately 30 active deepfake websites. Through a partnership with Seoul National University, it has also completed protection processing for 5,800 graduation photos for the class of 2026. The company is currently in discussions with domestic broadcasters and major law firms regarding the adoption of its service.

CEO Lee Jeong-hoon majored in computer science and economics at Seoul National University’s School of Liberal Arts. He subsequently worked at an AI semiconductor company, where he was responsible for everything from model development to overall service operations. CEO Lee, who enjoyed taking portraits as a hobby, became acutely aware of the problem—that individuals had no means to protect their own photos from criminal misuse—after witnessing the deepfake crisis of 2024. Consequently, he co-founded the company with Yoo Hyun-jin, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Ha Kyu-won, Chief Operating Officer (COO), both Seoul National University alumni who possess technical expertise and business acumen in their respective fields.