South Korean AI optimization startup ENERZAi announced on May 14 that it has secured approximately USD 5.6 million(KRW 7.7 billion) in a bridge funding round, bringing its total investment raised to around USD 8.7 million(KRW 12 billion). The round attracted new investors including Korea Development Bank, K2 Investment Partners, and SBI Investment, with Korea Investment Partners also participating as a returning investor.

Founded in 2019, ENERZAi is on a mission to “enable everyone to experience the best AI through every device.” The company specializes in AI inference optimization—addressing common industry challenges such as subpar AI model inference performance, increased deployment costs, and diminished product competitiveness. Leveraging its proprietary technology, ENERZAi is actively expanding partnerships with global semiconductor leaders including Intel, Arm, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Renesas Electronics.

At the heart of its innovation is Optimium, a next-generation AI inference engine that dramatically enhances performance on target hardware without sacrificing accuracy. Currently optimized for CPUs, Optimium has demonstrated superior speed and efficiency over existing inference engines. In April 2025, the platform earned international recognition, winning the “Best Edge AI Development Platform” category in the Edge AI and Vision Alliance’s 2025 Product of the Year Awards.

Optimium significantly improves the speed and throughput of AI models deployed in edge devices, maximizing their performance while supporting fabless semiconductor and IP companies in delivering enhanced AI solutions to their clients. ENERZAi also enables efficient AI execution on low-spec edge hardware by integrating low-bit, low-memory AI models with Optimium’s highly optimized kernel.

According to Hyukryul Kwon, Managing Director at K2 Investment Partners, “ENERZAi’s unmatched expertise in AI inference optimization is helping it rapidly expand its market position through collaborations with global tech firms. As AI continues to be applied across industries and new, complex models emerge, ENERZAi’s technology has the potential to serve as critical infrastructure.”

Following the investment, ENERZAi plans to expand Optimium’s hardware compatibility, further enhance its performance, and aggressively recruit top-tier global talent.

Hyunwoo Jung, Chief Strategy Officer at ENERZAi, commented, “Despite a global slowdown in startup investments, we were able to secure funding thanks to strong consensus around the necessity of AI inference optimization, our technical strengths, and our global scalability. This round will accelerate the expansion of Optimium’s support coverage, drive customer adoption, and solidify our international business foundation.”