[OpenAI Partner]⑨ Interview with Gwangcheol Ji, CEO of NextPayments
A Company Analyzing Business and Consumer Data through the Distribution of Smart Devices
Recommending Menus Based on Facial Recognition of Store Users' Age and Gender
Order through AI Voice Recognition… Starting Full-Scale Collaboration with OpenAI
Used in Over 8,000 Businesses… “Helping Small Businesses with Digital Transformation”
[Anyang= Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun] "I am 'MZZZ', your voice-activated ordering assistant. You can order or get menu recommendations."
On the 21st, at a restaurant located in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, an AI assistant within the contactless ordering device, TableOrder, greeted a customer. When asked, "I'm here with my boyfriend, can you recommend a menu?" a two-person set menu featuring chicken and beer appeared on the screen. Even seniors who are not familiar with smart devices or foreigners who cannot read Korean can easily order through conversation.
(Graphics by Moon Seung-yong)
This is a scene from 'N Shop,' an offline store being piloted by smart store solution company NextPayments. NextPayments is a startup that supplies smart devices such as AI-powered TableOrder systems, kiosks, and serving robots, and analyzes the commercial district and consumer data collected through these devices. The smart device hardware is provided by Samsung Electronics, while NextPayments offers a cloud-based solution.
The smart devices from NextPayments not only handle simple ordering and payment but also recommend menus based on the visitor's age and gender. Business owners can use this data to adjust ingredient supply and devise store operation strategies based on time, season, or delivery channels. This technology is particularly useful for small business owners who urgently need digital transformation.
Ji Kwang-cheol, CEO of NextPayments, told Edaily, "Simply installing kiosks in offline stores doesn't mean digital transformation has been achieved; it’s just a step towards it. The true meaning of digital transformation lies in analyzing the data generated by smart devices like kiosks and using it to improve store operations."
The offline store 'N Shop,' operated as a pilot by NextPayments, is equipped with smart devices such as kiosks, serving robots, and TableOrder systems (photo by NextPayments).
NextPayments uses LiDAR sensors and vision AI embedded in these smart devices to estimate the age and gender of customers and recommend menus accordingly. The system can also analyze foot traffic inside and outside the store, making it useful in multi-use facilities like museums, department stores, and airports. Importantly, the information collected by AI is anonymized to ensure it cannot identify individuals.
The smart devices also feature an AI assistant function utilizing the API (Application Programming Interface) of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. This enables voice ordering in various languages supported by ChatGPT. Based on the utility and potential growth of ChatGPT, NextPayments was recently selected for the OpenAI collaboration program organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. OpenAI will provide direct consulting, and the Ministry will support the commercialization with up to 200 million KRW in funding.
This is not the first time the company has participated in a program by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Since 2020, it has been selected annually for the "Win-Win Smart Store Technology Distribution Project," supplying smart devices to over 3,000 small business locations in the past four years. Including these, a total of 8,000 business locations have implemented NextPayments' technology.
CEO Ji Kwang-cheol emphasized, "Helping small businesses achieve digital transformation is our core mission. Our smart devices enable analysis of customer demographics, usage times, and stay durations in stores, with easy access to this data through voice commands." He added, "Business owners can ask the AI assistant embedded in the smart devices for advice on questions like 'What kind of events should we hold in the store?' and receive suggestions. We aim to create a channel where small business owners can always seek business-related advice whenever needed."
Example of data analyzed by NextPayments' smart devices (photo by NextPayments).
By Kim Kyung-eun, Reporter.
NEXTPAYNEWS
[OpenAI Partner]⑨ Interview with Gwangcheol Ji, CEO of NextPayments
A Company Analyzing Business and Consumer Data through the Distribution of Smart Devices
Recommending Menus Based on Facial Recognition of Store Users' Age and Gender
Order through AI Voice Recognition… Starting Full-Scale Collaboration with OpenAI
Used in Over 8,000 Businesses… “Helping Small Businesses with Digital Transformation”
[Anyang= Edaily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun] "I am 'MZZZ', your voice-activated ordering assistant. You can order or get menu recommendations."
On the 21st, at a restaurant located in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, an AI assistant within the contactless ordering device, TableOrder, greeted a customer. When asked, "I'm here with my boyfriend, can you recommend a menu?" a two-person set menu featuring chicken and beer appeared on the screen. Even seniors who are not familiar with smart devices or foreigners who cannot read Korean can easily order through conversation.
(Graphics by Moon Seung-yong)
This is a scene from 'N Shop,' an offline store being piloted by smart store solution company NextPayments. NextPayments is a startup that supplies smart devices such as AI-powered TableOrder systems, kiosks, and serving robots, and analyzes the commercial district and consumer data collected through these devices. The smart device hardware is provided by Samsung Electronics, while NextPayments offers a cloud-based solution.
The smart devices from NextPayments not only handle simple ordering and payment but also recommend menus based on the visitor's age and gender. Business owners can use this data to adjust ingredient supply and devise store operation strategies based on time, season, or delivery channels. This technology is particularly useful for small business owners who urgently need digital transformation.
Ji Kwang-cheol, CEO of NextPayments, told Edaily, "Simply installing kiosks in offline stores doesn't mean digital transformation has been achieved; it’s just a step towards it. The true meaning of digital transformation lies in analyzing the data generated by smart devices like kiosks and using it to improve store operations."
The offline store 'N Shop,' operated as a pilot by NextPayments, is equipped with smart devices such as kiosks, serving robots, and TableOrder systems (photo by NextPayments).
NextPayments uses LiDAR sensors and vision AI embedded in these smart devices to estimate the age and gender of customers and recommend menus accordingly. The system can also analyze foot traffic inside and outside the store, making it useful in multi-use facilities like museums, department stores, and airports. Importantly, the information collected by AI is anonymized to ensure it cannot identify individuals.
The smart devices also feature an AI assistant function utilizing the API (Application Programming Interface) of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. This enables voice ordering in various languages supported by ChatGPT. Based on the utility and potential growth of ChatGPT, NextPayments was recently selected for the OpenAI collaboration program organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. OpenAI will provide direct consulting, and the Ministry will support the commercialization with up to 200 million KRW in funding.
This is not the first time the company has participated in a program by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Since 2020, it has been selected annually for the "Win-Win Smart Store Technology Distribution Project," supplying smart devices to over 3,000 small business locations in the past four years. Including these, a total of 8,000 business locations have implemented NextPayments' technology.
CEO Ji Kwang-cheol emphasized, "Helping small businesses achieve digital transformation is our core mission. Our smart devices enable analysis of customer demographics, usage times, and stay durations in stores, with easy access to this data through voice commands." He added, "Business owners can ask the AI assistant embedded in the smart devices for advice on questions like 'What kind of events should we hold in the store?' and receive suggestions. We aim to create a channel where small business owners can always seek business-related advice whenever needed."
Example of data analyzed by NextPayments' smart devices (photo by NextPayments).
By Kim Kyung-eun, Reporter.