The Venture Codex

Led · Series B · Aug 2026

Ready Robust Machine develops hardware and software energy-recovery solutions for hydraulic heavy equipment, centered on its READi X system and an agricultural variant READi T. The company has validated fuel-efficiency improvements in industrial deployments, reporting up to 36% improvement on 30-ton Hyundai excavators, up to 19.4% on 50-ton Hyundai excavators (a claimed world-first for 50-ton class), and average gains above 16% in Japanese tests on Shin-Ei and Sumitomo machines. Its business has shown growth: first-half sales exceeded the prior year’s annual sales and the company reported an order backlog over 2 billion won. Ready Robust Machine plans to scale manufacturing, expand a nationwide installation and maintenance network, and commercialize data services such as Zero Downtime to extend applications to tractors, cranes and other hydraulic equipment. The company is also pursuing global expansion through its Japan subsidiary and aims to launch a plug-in hybrid large excavator capable of more than 10 hours of operation on a single charge within the year.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2025

Qunova Computing builds quantum-focused software and algorithms aimed at delivering practical advantage on Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) hardware for chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial engineering users. Its algorithms have been tested with leading quantum hardware companies and research institutes, and the company reports results indicating it can deliver a quantum advantage even on NISQ devices. Qunova says its technology will reduce the large number of trials required to develop new materials with specific properties, cutting time and expense in industrial R&D. The company intends to use the Series A proceeds to expand operations and accelerate development efforts. Qunova raised $10M in a Series A round. The company was founded in 2021 and is led by CEO Kevin June-Koo Rhee.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2025

Amogy builds modular ammonia-to-power systems that crack ammonia into hydrogen and feed the resulting hydrogen into a fuel cell or engine, enabling carbon-free electricity generation. The company targets hard-to-decarbonise sectors, with current focus on maritime propulsion, distributed generation, and floating power infrastructure. Its plug-and-play modules are designed to integrate into vessels or barges, providing fast-deployable, high-density power. Amogy is now exploring the use of its technology on Powerships and floating data-centre platforms through a new partnership with Kinetics, a subsidiary of Karpowership. By pairing on-board ammonia storage with at-sea operations, the approach could circumvent on-shore permitting delays while leveraging seawater cooling for improved energy efficiency. The collaboration aims to serve multi-hundred-megawatt AI and digital-infrastructure loads, contingent on developing adequate ammonia bunkering and grid connections. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article, but management positions the solution as a key enabler for rapid, large-scale decarbonisation in high-demand markets.

Led · Equity · May 2024

Worknjoy builds GPRO, described as a “hyper-connected business management platform” that links member data to bring HR, finance, approvals, attendance, and collaboration together. The product emphasizes integration, offering bidirectional connections with ERP systems such as SAP and Douzone to simplify organization-wide operations. Worknjoy positions GPRO to reduce fragmentation and integration costs as companies adopt multiple solutions. The company highlights features for financial visibility, including monthly tracking, department-specific spending, tax invoices, and corporate card transactions. Management says it will focus on further integrating and connecting business solutions. Financially, the startup recently secured new investment to support these efforts (see deal details).

Participated · Series A · Mar 2024

Testbank runs the digital-reference service '쏠브', which adapts paper reference books and problem workbooks for a digital learning environment. The product includes problem-solving‑optimized note features such as auto-graded PDFs and an automatic wrong-answer notebook. Since launch, 쏠브 attracted 10,000 organically acquired users within one year and achieved recommendation scores in the high 9s. The company began partnerships with major 수능 education players including Megastudy Education and Jinhaksa last year, and this year added collaborations with MegaMD, MegaLand and Ubion (operator of WowPass). Management plans to expand into the employment and professional certification market. CEO Choi Hyun-wook emphasized that 테스트뱅크 is addressing prerequisites for digital learning, including a question database and learning management systems. TestBank develops technology that transforms book-format textbook data into digital, interactive learning content using machine learning. Its platform implements features such as pen/annotation tools, an error-note system, and automatic grading to support effective tablet-based studying. The company plans to launch a digital reference-book platform called SOLVE and is negotiating copyrights with domestic reference-book publishers to distribute content digitally. TestBank has signed an MOU with Pagoda Education Group to build a digital reference-book service and learning management system. In November 2021 the company reached the finals of an AI championship and received the '창업진흥원장상' award. It was selected for the 2022 Youth Startup Academy and is preparing to enter the program. TestBank recently secured an initial seed investment from POSTECH Holdings to support its product development and rollout.