Chairman Jeong Yoon-mo of Korea Technology Finance Corp. (KOTEC) (Photo: KOTEC)

Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) announced on Jan. 20 that it had completed the development of the AIRATE, an AI-based new technology evaluation system based on a full-scale diagnosis of the Kibo Technology Rating System (KTRS). It began to apply the new AI-based new technology evaluation system to the evaluation of technology in January.

Based on recent preemptive research into the financial application of AI technology, KOTEC developed the Kibo Patent Appraisal System (KPAS), a system that evaluates the value of patents by learning evaluation patterns of professional evaluators based on artificial intelligence.

Then, it applies artificial intelligence algorithms to small and medium-sized technological enterprises by harnessing the KPAS.

In addition, KOTEC reorganized the technology evaluation model, which had been operated based on a statistical model, into an artificial intelligence-based system, and launched the brand AIRATE to raise awareness of the differentiation and excellence of the new technology evaluation system.

This refers to a collaboration system in which experts and artificial intelligence generate synergies. KOTEC’s AIRATE dramatically improved the KTRS’ predicting performance.

The introduction of artificial intelligence algorithms pushes up the KTRS’ accuracy in predicting the growth of a technological business by more than 6% and the failure of a technological business by more than 12%. Therefore, its overall prediction accuracy climbed more than 9%.

In the meantime, even with high growth potential, early start-ups and venture companies with weak financial power have had difficulties in receiving additional funds other than initial funds for start-up foundation.

However, more support is now available for financially marginalized technological SMEs that have sufficient growth potential, even if their finances are weak.

Not only technology business evaluation grades, but also technology business growth grades and technology business risk grades, can be separately used to design products that combine them in various ways, allowing customized support to given to promising small and medium-sized technology companies.

Furthermore, AI models tend to value accuracy in general, but AIRATE solves the model’s tendency to lose balance by focusing on accuracy alone by implementing a system to evaluate competition and cooperation between experts and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile KOTEC announced on Jan. 26 that it held a management strategy workshop in the first half under the theme of “Korean version of New Deal” at its headquarters in Munhyeon-dong, Busan.

The workshop was held through a video conferencing system in time for digital transformation after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The workshop was designed to share KOTEC’s business performances in 2020 and key promotion tasks for 2021 in the COVID-19 crisis, and to seek KOTEC’s roles and policy direction in the government’s “Korean New Deal” to make Korea a leading country.

“We appreciate the hard work of executives and employees who have worked hard to successfully support Korea in discovering and developing future growth engines and Korean companies in pursuing innovative growth over and above supporting Korean companies in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis in 2020,” chairman Jeong Yoon-mo said in his message to participants.

In 2020, KOTEC provided a total of 25.4 trillion won, including 7.8 trillion won in new guarantees to help small and medium-sized enterprises ride out difficulties stemming from the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Moreover, it took the initiative in the innovation-powered growth of small and medium-sized venture companies and created an ecosystem for start-ups by introducing scale-up support and New Deal guarantee programs.

In 2021, KOTEC plans to resume special guarantees for the COVID-19 crisis with an eye toward surmounting the COVID-19 crisis, implement AIRATE to increase its professional capabilities in evaluation technologies and support small and medium-sized venture companies’ establishment of technology strategies by building patent evaluation platforms.

In addition, with the goal of supporting small and medium-sized venture companies, KOTEC will expand guarantee support for each stage of growth such as Tech Valley Guarantee, R&D support, and special guarantee for future unicorn companies, and upgrade Green New Deal Guarantee and the assessment of the value of carbon reduction.

Participants had an in-depth discussion on the concepts of Korean New Deal policies, which aim to push Korea toward becoming a leading economy, a low-carbon economy and more open society and KOTEC’s roles in the implementation of the policies in the workshop.