korean-startup
(2)
Cuckoo
Cuckoo is a real-time AI interpreter built for global business conversations. Companies invite Cuckoo into Zoom calls or in-person meetings, and it delivers live translation across 20+ languages while learning each team's internal documents, glossaries, and jargon so technical sales, support, and marketing conversations don't lose meaning between languages. Founded in 2024 by KAIST alumni Yong Hee Lee and Gunwoo Kim, the company went through Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch and raised a $1.8M seed round in 2025.
Liner
Liner is an AI search engine built for students, researchers, and knowledge workers who need answers they can trust. Founded in 2012 as a web highlighter and rebuilt around large language models after GPT-3, the company now serves roughly 12 million monthly users across more than 200 countries, pairing conversational answers with transparent citations from academic papers and vetted sources. Headquartered in San Francisco with roots in Seoul, Liner positions itself as a source-grounded alternative to general chatbots and to Google's search box.