Koreas

Global Expansion: Ai Pin Enters the International Market Through Partnership with SK Telecom in South Korea

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Hyped AI startup Humane has announced plans for its first international market, inking a deal with South Korean carrier SK Telecom. The announcement comes shortly after the San Francisco-based company revealed it was pushing back the shipping date of its Ai Pin device from March to mid-April in its domestic U.S. market. The Ai Pin costs $699 up front, with a recurring $24 monthly subscription that gives the user a phone number and unlimited data to power as many AI-powered queries they like. And just yesterday, SK Telecom announced a partnership with AI search engine Perplexity to bring its premium “Pro” plan to SK Telecom’s 32 million subscribers. It’s also not yet clear when the Ai Pin might make it to market in South Korea, but given the delays currently surrounding its U.S. launch we maybe shouldn’t expect it too soon.

Myrealtrip of Korea Secures $56M in New Funding Amidst Travel Resurgence

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Korea’s Myrealtrip cashes in on travel rebound with $56M in new fundingMyrealtrip is the latest travel tech company to ride a growing post-pandemic tourism industry. “The travel industry was fragmented 12 years ago in South Korea, and there was no platform that provided travel information,” CEO of Myrealtrip Donggun Lee said in an exclusive interview with TechCrunch. Myrealtrip acquired Startrip in 2022 to capture the number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea post-pandemic. This travel platform lets users discover and book Korean-pop (K-pop) themed spots, including popular boy band BTS music video filming locations. Myrealtrip also invested in IwaTrip, a Korean travel platform that helps users find available spots to travel with kids, and O-Peace, a co-working and co-living space platform designed for digital nomads workers.