A Korean startup that improves manufacturing efficiency with artificial intelligence (AI) is drawing attention in Silicon Valley. The company is AIBIZ, which supplies AI-based process diagnostic solutions to semiconductor contract manufacturing (foundry). Han Gyeong-seok, head of AIBIZ's U.S. subsidiary, met Asia Economy on the 20th (local time) at the KOTRA Silicon Valley Trade Center office in San Jose, U.S., and explained, "The United States is the center of the semiconductor and battery industries," adding, "It is a 'land of investment' where, as long as you have the technology, you can receive more than enough investment." He said, "We can apply our technology directly on the ground and collaborate with companies," and added, "Voluntary communities of local experts and corporate officials are held every day." AIBIZ is currently contributing to yield improvement at major Korean semiconductor companies. Its core technology is 'DutchBoy', an AI-based manufacturing process diagnostic solution. It collects several years of defect-rate data, analyzes patterns, and on that basis precisely catches defects. Beyond semiconductors, it is also carrying out manufacturing process anomaly detection and process optimization with large companies in various fields, including secondary batteries, materials, parts and equipment, bio, and information technology (IT). In January, it showcased its technology at 'CES 2025', the world's largest IT and consumer electronics exhibition. In 2023, it established a San Jose branch inside the KOTRA Silicon Valley Trade Center to collaborate with U.S. companies. San Jose is an area where semiconductor and IT companies are concentrated, and it is an ideal environment where information and technology flow quickly and where partners' technology demands can be met quickly. In particular, with the recent AI boom, Korean startups are also drawing the attention of large investment firms. He said, "Large corporations are slow to move with change, but startups have a mood of pushing ahead," adding, "Silicon Valley venture capitalists (VCs) also seem ready to invest." For this reason, various startups seeking investment have recently been gathering in San Jose. In fact, about 50 Korean companies are housed in the Silicon Valley Trade Center. Their main fields vary, including semiconductors, AI, and autonomous driving, and the number of AI application technology companies here has also been increasing recently. An official at the KOTRA Silicon Valley Trade Center said, "More and more companies are incorporating AI-applied technology," adding, "The mood is that it makes it easier to receive investment and helps in appealing to customers with their products." Although the AI industry has recently been developing rapidly, AI development in the manufacturing industry is still at a nascent stage. The company instead spotted an opportunity in that gap and quickly entered the market. Head Han emphasized, "Industrial AI faces high barriers to adoption, including problems of processing and storing vast amounts of data, analyzing complex correlations among numerous factors, and anxiety caused by unclear demand," adding, "Even so, AI is now becoming essential in manufacturing too, and it is a time when developing industry-tailored AI technology that can actually be applied on the factory floor is all the more urgent." Head Han forecast that the automation and intelligentization of industrial processes to meet market demand will become even more active. He explained that AI-based robots and predictive analytics solutions will become commonplace, greatly reducing companies' operating costs and time. AIBIZ was not able to adapt to the local environment from the start. Although it was able to establish the subsidiary with the help of the KOTRA IT Support Center, in the early stage of its expansion it had to struggle against walls such as cultural barriers and building a local network. He said, "Business meetings and networking are conducted differently from Korea, so it was not easy to quickly build trust with local partners," adding, "To solve this, I, who am familiar with local circumstances, was put in charge as head of the subsidiary." He added, "We have steadily participated in events hosted by local startup communities and investment firms to promote the company and find potential partners and customers." The difficulty of obtaining permanent residency in the United States is also one of the factors making local expansion hard. In particular, the Trump administration has recently been trying to deny entry to or deport not only illegal immigrants but also foreigners staying legally, for various reasons. He said regretfully, "If only they could obtain permanent residency, many people would probably come over to San Jose from Korea as well." An employee at AIBIZ's San Jose branch also recently failed to obtain a work visa and is waiting for the next lottery. Head Han conveyed his impression that the culture between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (startups) in the U.S. was quite different from that in Korea. In Korea, large corporations and SMEs work separately and there is a mood in which large corporations try to support startups with money at a minimum, whereas in the U.S. a mood of 'win-win' prevails, in which large corporations do well only if SMEs do well. In return, the process of assessing a partner company's technology level before collaborating is very strict, and after acknowledging its technology level, they treat the partner on an equal footing, he explained. In particular, Korean companies with branches in the U.S. now have a chance to gain a geographic advantage as the second Trump administration promotes America First and 'onshoring' (expanding production facilities within the U.S.). He emphasized, "We are actually feeling the geographic advantage, and it will grow even larger going forward," adding, "Problems that in the past only large Korean corporations had to worry about have now become an era in which even small and medium-sized companies must run their businesses while considering the U.S. political situation." He said an active strategy should be considered, such as establishing a U.S. subsidiary and having companies collaborate locally to build production facilities. AIBIZ's goal going forward is to increase points of contact with local companies, such as forming a dedicated sales and marketing team at its U.S. subsidiary. In the long term, it also has the ambition to list on the domestic stock market by 2027 based on U.S. market revenue. Head Han said, "We plan to secure a stable revenue pipeline in the U.S. market to maximize corporate value and investment appeal when we list domestically."