# Seung Yoon (SY) Lee

> Seung Yoon (SY) Lee is a South Korean entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of PIP Labs. He previously co-founded crowdfunded journalism platform Byline and serialized-fiction app Radish, acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440 million in 2021. His subsequent work on Story, DATA Network and Poseidon concerns intellectual property, AI training data and contributor compensation.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at PIP Labs
- **Organizations:** PIP Labs, Poseidon, Sui Foundation, DATA Network, Story Protocol, Radish, Kakao Entertainment, Byline, Oxford Union, Hashed
- **From:** Seoul, South Korea
- **Nationality:** South Korean
- **Education:** Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Hertford College, University of Oxford
- **Known for:** Co-founded Radish, acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440 million in 2021., Became the first East Asian president of the Oxford Union., Launched the Oxford Union’s YouTube channel.

## Career timeline

- **2012–2013** — Served as president of the Oxford Union and launched its YouTube channel.
- **2015** — Launched Byline with Daniel Tudor to support crowdfunded journalism.
- **2016** — Co-founded serialized-fiction platform Radish with Joy Cho.
- **2021** — Radish was acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440 million; Lee became Kakao Entertainment’s global strategy officer.
- **2022** — Co-founded PIP Labs, the developer behind Story.
- **2024** — Story raised an $80 million Series B led by a16z crypto.
- **2025** — Became founding president of Poseidon, incubated by Story.
- **2026** — Story refocused as DATA Network; Lee became a strategic advisor to Sui Foundation in October.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Radish, acquired by Kakao Entertainment for $440 million in 2021.
- Became the first East Asian president of the Oxford Union.
- Launched the Oxford Union’s YouTube channel.
- Selected for the inaugural Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2016.
- Named an Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leader and a Trilateral Commission David Rockefeller Fellow.
- Co-founded PIP Labs; Story’s August 2024 Series B raised $80 million.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Sui Foundation announced a $30 million investment in DATA Network and appointed Lee strategic advisor. DATA Network plans to run as a protocol on Sui and retire its independent chain after the transition.
- **2026-10** — At Sui Basecamp, Lee discussed real-world video for physical AI and robotics and the need for consent, provenance and contributor compensation.
- **2026-06** — Story became the DATA Foundation and Story Network became DATA Network, focusing on real-world AI training data.
- **2025-07** — Story announced Poseidon’s incubation and a $15 million seed round led by a16z crypto, with Lee as founding president.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-y-seung-yoon-lee-8205a444/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/theSYlee

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/seung-yoon-lee
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25