On the 14th of last month, unexpectedly, the ideology of 'Hongik Ingan', the founding spirit of Gojoseon, was mentioned at the OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco, USA. It was a moment where 14 domestic startups selected as candidates for collaboration with OpenAI had 7 minutes to present their technology. The claim that the spirit of 'Hongik Ingan', which aims to benefit humanity widely, resonates with OpenAI's founding ideology of developing artificial intelligence that contributes to the benefit of humanity, caught the interest of OpenAI judges and investment firm representatives.
At this event, held as part of the global corporate collaboration program between the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and OpenAI, the final results of the judging revealed that 10 out of the 14 candidate companies were selected as collaborative partners with OpenAI. NextPayments, which drew attention by mentioning 'Hongik Ingan', was one of them.
NextPayments is a domestic retail tech startup developing smart store solutions for small businesses. It has been involved in the Smart Store Technology Distribution Project of the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and the Small Business Market Promotion Agency, helping small businesses with their digital transformation for several years. This year, it is taking a step beyond digital transformation to AI transformation by introducing an AI assistant called 'Mzzz' using Generative AI technology in its smart store solutions.
NextPayments expects that these technologies will increase the growth and sustainability of small business establishments, improve accessibility for digitally disadvantaged individuals, and contribute to resolving various social disparities. I had the opportunity to meet with Ji Kwang-chul, the CEO of NextPayments, to hear firsthand about the stories related to the successful collaboration with OpenAI.
Ji Kwang-chul, CEO of NextPayments / Source=NextPayments
How do you feel about being selected as a final collaborator with OpenAI?
It feels validating to be recognized for our vision, which we have been thinking about and working on. It confirms that what we have been envisioning and building is not just vague talk for ourselves. OpenAI's empathy towards our vision of using artificial intelligence to alleviate the inconveniences faced by small business owners is significant. Being acknowledged for both marketability and social value by a company at the forefront of change is meaningful.
You emphasized 'Hongik Ingan' in your pitching.
With the emergence of search engines like Google, access to knowledge and information has become easier for everyone. If Google didn't exist, accessing knowledge and information would have been inconvenient, and this accessibility gap would have created various social disparities. The value of companies like Google lies in eliminating these inconveniences and disparities.
I see the work that OpenAI and NextPayments are doing in a similar light. The advent of Generative AI technology has made it easy for anyone to handle specialized knowledge, insights, and repetitive tasks. When applied to smart store technology, it can help bridge the capital and technology gap between small businesses and large corporations, as well as address the issue of digital disparity faced by digitally disadvantaged individuals, thus contributing to the benefit of humanity.
In reality, there are many hurdles, including cost issues, for small business owners to adopt smart store solutions for digital transformation. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19, self-employed individuals have been forced into situations where they must adopt such technologies. Moreover, the types and fields of technology that need to be adopted are becoming increasingly diverse. NextPayments aims to lower the barriers to adopting such technology.
Ji Kwang-chul, CEO of NextPayments / Source=NextPayments
K-Startup & OpenAI Matching Day held at OpenAI headquarters in the US. Sam Altman also made a surprise appearance.
Source=Ministry of SMEs and Startups
What AI services and solutions are planned for the future through collaboration with OpenAI?
Currently, the AI assistant implemented through OpenAI's application programming interface (API), called MZZZ, is integrated into table orders, dashboards, and continues to evolve. For example, when requesting a new menu plan, MZZZ now not only suggests menu concepts but also provides recipes. It even generates menu photos that resemble those taken by professional food stylists.
We also plan to incorporate MZZZ into serving robots, enabling them to not only serve but also interact with customers like waiters and take orders. Additionally, we are developing features for MZZZ to generate videos to be played on kiosks and background music for stores. Furthermore, we aim to expand our services by embedding AI functionalities throughout the store.
NextPayments' AI assistant MZZZ embedded in the dashboard screen / Source=NextPayments
Large corporations are also introducing AI transformation solutions targeting small businesses, intensifying competition.
While AI transformation projects of large corporations are just a part of their various business portfolios, we focus exclusively on this field. We are a company that thoroughly looks at small businesses, works for them, and revolves around them.
A passage from the Confucian classic "Doctrine of the Mean" states, "If there is sincerity in what is unseen, sincerity will manifest; if sincerity manifests, its clarity will become apparent; if clarity becomes apparent, its illumination will become manifest; if illumination becomes manifest, it will affect others; if it affects others, they will change; and if they change, they will transform, as the sincerity and truthfulness of the world are the forces that change the world."
This encapsulates the core values pursued by NextPayments. There is sincerity in what is unseen, and eventually, it manifests to touch the hearts of customers. We obsess over customer inconveniences and aim to provide solutions even before they recognize the problems.
Organizational restructuring is also underway for this purpose. We have started operating a customer obsession team, which goes beyond the customer experience team. We constantly inquire about the inconveniences faced by small business owners in various regions and their needs for technology and functionality, and we aim to respond promptly with the agility characteristic of startups.
What are our future plans?
We are diligently preparing for entry into the global market. In Canada, we are steadily conducting proof of concept (POC) with the goal of entering the B2G market in September. We are also receiving many inquiries from local companies about signage and table order implementation. At the end of May, we plan to launch our flagship store, "N Shop," in the United States. We are considering New York, New Jersey, and Boston as potential locations. We plan to conduct local surveys soon to select the opening location.
IT Dong-A, Reporter Kwon Taek-kyung tk@itdonga.com
NEXTPAYNEWS
On the 14th of last month, unexpectedly, the ideology of 'Hongik Ingan', the founding spirit of Gojoseon, was mentioned at the OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco, USA. It was a moment where 14 domestic startups selected as candidates for collaboration with OpenAI had 7 minutes to present their technology. The claim that the spirit of 'Hongik Ingan', which aims to benefit humanity widely, resonates with OpenAI's founding ideology of developing artificial intelligence that contributes to the benefit of humanity, caught the interest of OpenAI judges and investment firm representatives.
At this event, held as part of the global corporate collaboration program between the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and OpenAI, the final results of the judging revealed that 10 out of the 14 candidate companies were selected as collaborative partners with OpenAI. NextPayments, which drew attention by mentioning 'Hongik Ingan', was one of them.
NextPayments is a domestic retail tech startup developing smart store solutions for small businesses. It has been involved in the Smart Store Technology Distribution Project of the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and the Small Business Market Promotion Agency, helping small businesses with their digital transformation for several years. This year, it is taking a step beyond digital transformation to AI transformation by introducing an AI assistant called 'Mzzz' using Generative AI technology in its smart store solutions.
NextPayments expects that these technologies will increase the growth and sustainability of small business establishments, improve accessibility for digitally disadvantaged individuals, and contribute to resolving various social disparities. I had the opportunity to meet with Ji Kwang-chul, the CEO of NextPayments, to hear firsthand about the stories related to the successful collaboration with OpenAI.
Ji Kwang-chul, CEO of NextPayments / Source=NextPayments
How do you feel about being selected as a final collaborator with OpenAI?
It feels validating to be recognized for our vision, which we have been thinking about and working on. It confirms that what we have been envisioning and building is not just vague talk for ourselves. OpenAI's empathy towards our vision of using artificial intelligence to alleviate the inconveniences faced by small business owners is significant. Being acknowledged for both marketability and social value by a company at the forefront of change is meaningful.
You emphasized 'Hongik Ingan' in your pitching.
With the emergence of search engines like Google, access to knowledge and information has become easier for everyone. If Google didn't exist, accessing knowledge and information would have been inconvenient, and this accessibility gap would have created various social disparities. The value of companies like Google lies in eliminating these inconveniences and disparities.
I see the work that OpenAI and NextPayments are doing in a similar light. The advent of Generative AI technology has made it easy for anyone to handle specialized knowledge, insights, and repetitive tasks. When applied to smart store technology, it can help bridge the capital and technology gap between small businesses and large corporations, as well as address the issue of digital disparity faced by digitally disadvantaged individuals, thus contributing to the benefit of humanity.
In reality, there are many hurdles, including cost issues, for small business owners to adopt smart store solutions for digital transformation. However, since the outbreak of COVID-19, self-employed individuals have been forced into situations where they must adopt such technologies. Moreover, the types and fields of technology that need to be adopted are becoming increasingly diverse. NextPayments aims to lower the barriers to adopting such technology.
Ji Kwang-chul, CEO of NextPayments / Source=NextPayments
K-Startup & OpenAI Matching Day held at OpenAI headquarters in the US. Sam Altman also made a surprise appearance.
Source=Ministry of SMEs and Startups
What AI services and solutions are planned for the future through collaboration with OpenAI?
Currently, the AI assistant implemented through OpenAI's application programming interface (API), called MZZZ, is integrated into table orders, dashboards, and continues to evolve. For example, when requesting a new menu plan, MZZZ now not only suggests menu concepts but also provides recipes. It even generates menu photos that resemble those taken by professional food stylists.
We also plan to incorporate MZZZ into serving robots, enabling them to not only serve but also interact with customers like waiters and take orders. Additionally, we are developing features for MZZZ to generate videos to be played on kiosks and background music for stores. Furthermore, we aim to expand our services by embedding AI functionalities throughout the store.
NextPayments' AI assistant MZZZ embedded in the dashboard screen / Source=NextPayments
Large corporations are also introducing AI transformation solutions targeting small businesses, intensifying competition.
While AI transformation projects of large corporations are just a part of their various business portfolios, we focus exclusively on this field. We are a company that thoroughly looks at small businesses, works for them, and revolves around them.
A passage from the Confucian classic "Doctrine of the Mean" states, "If there is sincerity in what is unseen, sincerity will manifest; if sincerity manifests, its clarity will become apparent; if clarity becomes apparent, its illumination will become manifest; if illumination becomes manifest, it will affect others; if it affects others, they will change; and if they change, they will transform, as the sincerity and truthfulness of the world are the forces that change the world."
This encapsulates the core values pursued by NextPayments. There is sincerity in what is unseen, and eventually, it manifests to touch the hearts of customers. We obsess over customer inconveniences and aim to provide solutions even before they recognize the problems.
Organizational restructuring is also underway for this purpose. We have started operating a customer obsession team, which goes beyond the customer experience team. We constantly inquire about the inconveniences faced by small business owners in various regions and their needs for technology and functionality, and we aim to respond promptly with the agility characteristic of startups.
What are our future plans?
We are diligently preparing for entry into the global market. In Canada, we are steadily conducting proof of concept (POC) with the goal of entering the B2G market in September. We are also receiving many inquiries from local companies about signage and table order implementation. At the end of May, we plan to launch our flagship store, "N Shop," in the United States. We are considering New York, New Jersey, and Boston as potential locations. We plan to conduct local surveys soon to select the opening location.
IT Dong-A, Reporter Kwon Taek-kyung tk@itdonga.com