[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] D2SF, Naver’s (NAVER(035420)) startup incubation organization, has made a new investment in F4GE, a defense and manufacturing infrastructure startup. Amid growing global demand for defense and manufacturing, the company connects domestic foundry and machining factories into a single manufacturing network and links them to overseas supply chains.

Naver D2SF announced on the 26th that it has made a new investment in F4GE. Participants in this investment round included Naver D2SF, K-Net Investment Partners, Saje Partners, D.Camp, and 500 Global. F4GE, which was founded in January of this year, has secured its first institutional investment with this round.

Poji is a startup that integrates domestic foundry, forging, machining, and mold-making facilities—part of Korea’s core manufacturing sector—into a “programmable manufacturing network” accessible to global defense and manufacturing companies. Its core mission is to standardize data from dispersed domestic manufacturing sites and convert it to meet the documentation and compliance requirements of global buyers.

In the global defense and manufacturing markets, procurement demand is growing rapidly, but there is a shortage of manufacturing infrastructure capable of handling it reliably. Meanwhile, South Korea has approximately 60,000 foundry and forging factories with high manufacturing quality and productivity; however, many have struggled to secure overseas markets because they fail to meet the compliance, documentation, and traceability requirements demanded by global companies.

Forge plans to bridge this gap with its proprietary software. By deploying the software in existing factory environments, it collects data on equipment, processes, inspections, and workflows in real time, then processes this data to align with the standard documentation and compliance frameworks required by global buyers. This enables domestic manufacturers to meet the requirements for entering the global supply chain without having to replace their existing systems on a large scale, while global buyers can secure verifiable manufacturing partners.

Forge’s infrastructure consists of three layers. It automatically standardizes equipment data formats and languages—which vary by manufacturing site—and builds a database by learning the operational know-how and tacit knowledge accumulated through the experience of skilled workers. It then provides end-to-end support for factory allocation, process standardization, logistics, customs clearance, and documentation, enabling manufacturers to maintain a certain level of manufacturing quality while meeting supply chain management certifications (CoC) required by entities such as the U.S. Department of Defense.

Currently, Forge is expanding its partnerships with factories in the foundational industries, focusing on manufacturing hubs in the southeastern region, such as Sacheon, Changwon, and Busan. It is also broadening its network with companies in North America and Europe that have demand in the defense, aerospace, shipbuilding, and robotics sectors. Building on this investment, Forge plans to expand its recruitment of talent in manufacturing engineering and AI development, as well as increase its new manufacturing partnerships.

Kwon Hyuk-hyun, CEO of Forge, has served in the Navy Special Warfare Command and founded a defense startup. He has also worked as an investor in AI and manufacturing startups in the United States. Naver D2SF invested in Forge, recognizing the team’s ability to identify business opportunities for Korean manufacturing capabilities amid global supply shortages in the defense and manufacturing industries.

Yang Sang-hwan, Head of Naver D2SF, stated, “Defense and manufacturing are sectors where new opportunities are continuously emerging as supply chain restructuring and technological advancement occur simultaneously on a global scale.” He added, “Pozy is a team building a framework that connects the on-site capabilities of the Korean manufacturing industry with global defense and manufacturing demand. This is highly significant as it helps the domestic manufacturing infrastructure play a larger role in the global value chain.”

He further emphasized, “As Team Naver is also advancing Industrial AX in various areas—including AI models specialized for defense, large language models (LLMs) tailored for defense and manufacturing, and physical AI—Naver D2SF plans to continue identifying startups that use technology to solve structural problems in the defense and manufacturing sectors and create opportunities in the global market.”

Naver D2SF has also launched an open call for startups in the defense and manufacturing sectors. The target areas include data analysis and convergence, simulation and verification, physical AI, strategic and tactical AI, command and control and battlefield management, manufacturing and maintenance automation, cybersecurity, and dual-use infrastructure. Applications for investment review can be submitted via the Naver D2SF website until October 25.