MakinaRocks

About MakinaRocks

MakinaRocks is an enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company specializing in solutions for the industrial sector. Founded in December 2017 by Andre S. Yoon, Jaehyuk Lee, and Sangwoo Shim, the company has offices in Seoul, South Korea, and Silicon Valley, USA. The founding was inspired by a successful project led by CEO Andre Yoon at SK Telecom, which used AI to improve semiconductor equipment operations and reduce defect rates. MakinaRocks officially spun off from SK Telecom's ICT R&D Center in 2018.

The company's core offering is 'Runway,' a proprietary AI platform that provides Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) to help enterprises develop, deploy, and manage AI models at scale. This platform is designed to manage the entire AI lifecycle, featuring tools for data integration, model development, and operational workflows, including specialized capabilities for LLMOps and MLSecOps. MakinaRocks delivers specialized AI solutions built on Runway to optimize processes in research and development, production, and supply chain management. Key solutions focus on predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, intelligent process control, and robotics, which help predict equipment failures, enhance product quality, and reduce operational downtime and costs.

MakinaRocks serves clients across various industries, including semiconductors, automotive, batteries, energy, and chemicals. Its business model involves creating and providing these enterprise AI solutions on a customer-request basis, often as on-premise solutions with a plan to expand into a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. The company has secured over 60 clients, including major global corporations like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, SK, and Applied Materials. The firm has raised a total of $11.5 million over two funding rounds, including a $10 million Series A in 2020 with investors like LG Technology Ventures, Hyundai Motors, and Applied Ventures.