[Edaily Marketin Reporter Soyoung Park ] This week (November 9–13), startups across various sectors—including artificial intelligence (AI), pharmaceuticals, and monetization platforms—secured investments from venture capital (VC) firms and accelerators (ACs).

In particular, the industry took note of the news that NVIDIA is investing in four domestic AI startups. NVIDIA is currently facing turmoil due to the “Blur” scandal involving its founder, Jensen Huang. However, this internal turmoil has not dampened the company’s enthusiasm for strengthening partnerships with domestic AI firms.

Domestic AI Startups That Caught NVIDIA’s Attention

NVIDIA announced investment plans targeting four domestic AI

startups

: Point2Technology, Upstage, Motif Technologies, and RealWorld. Motif and Upstage are AI model development companies. RealWorld develops robotics foundation models in the field of physical AI. Specific investment amounts were not disclosed.

Upstage is set to receive investment from NVIDIA as part of its ongoing second Series C funding round. Motif will use its existing investment, combined with this new investment from NVIDIA, to begin developing “Motif 4,” a next-generation foundation large language model (LLM).

NVIDIA announced this investment plan while hosting the “AI Startup Partnership Forum” with the Ministry of Science and ICT. This forum was organized to expand collaboration opportunities between domestic AI startups and NVIDIA, a leader in the global AI computing ecosystem. It was also designed to support domestic companies in entering overseas markets.

"Riflex Science," a Biotech Company Founded by a Seoul National University Professor

Riflex Science, a company developing anti-aging RNA therapeutics, has secured 7 billion won in Series A funding. Participants in this investment round included the Korea Development Bank, Meditox Venture Investment, Murex Partners, Future Science & Technology Holdings, Myriad Partners, Quad Asset Management, and Korea Science & Technology Holdings.

Riflex Science is a biotech company founded by Professor Kim Jin-hong of the Department of Life Sciences at Seoul National University. The company is developing treatments for age-related diseases based on a microRNA degradation platform. The company plans to use the secured funds to prepare for the clinical trial of its first pipeline—an RNA therapy for osteoarthritis, currently in the preclinical stage—scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027, as well as to conduct the clinical trial. It also plans to advance the development of three follow-up RNA therapy pipeline candidates. Based on the same platform, these targets obesity, kidney disease, and heart disease.

'Flac Corporation' Helps Monetize Instagram Comics

Flac Corporation has received an investment from MY Social Company (MYSC). The company trains Instagram comic creators and helps them generate revenue through advertising partnerships and character licensing. The investment came from the “Extra Mile Lycon Fund,” managed by MYSC. The exact amount was not disclosed.

Flac Corporation was founded by CEO Lee Eun-ji, who has personally operated the Instagram comic channel “Miss Mungdi.” The company nurtures creators by providing training in Instagram comic production and channel management. It also develops them into exclusive creators and connects them with brand advertising partnerships. Furthermore, it assists with intellectual property (IP) planning so that creators’ characters and content can be turned into digital products and sold.

The investment funds will be used to develop a platform exclusively for creators. Flak Corporation is preparing “Connectoon,” which facilitates advertising collaborations, and “Collectoon,” which supports the sale of character merchandise. The company is also developing AI tools to assist with content planning and channel analysis.