South Korea’s AI data specialist startup Selectstar has raised  approximately USD 15.2 million(KRW 20.5 billion) in Series B funding, bringing its total capital raised to approximately USD 28.1 million(KRW 37.9 billion). The round included domestic investors KB Investment, KB Securities, Shinhan Venture Investment, Kiwoom Investment, SBI Investment, Samsung Securities, Moorim Capital, Infobank Partners, and international partners such as Salesforce and ACVC Partners.

Notably, Salesforce, the world’s leading customer relationship management (CRM) company, recognized Selectstar’s unparalleled technological capabilities in AI data and its potential to lead the global market, making a strategic investment. Leveraging this partnership, Selectstar plans to accelerate its entry into overseas markets.

Founded in 2018, Selectstar has grown into a leading partner for AI data and reliability verification. The company provides essential data collection and processing solutions for AI development and has secured more than 320 clients, including South Korea’s top five conglomerates and five major financial groups. In 2023, it launched a licensed, high-quality training dataset sales service, surpassing approximately USD 3.70 million(KRW 5 billion) in cumulative sales. With increasing inquiries from global companies seeking Korean-language datasets, Selectstar is expanding into multilingual and multimodal datasets.

Earlier this year, Selectstar launched Datumo Eval, an automated solution for generative AI reliability verification, pioneering a new frontier in South Korea’s AI market. Datumo Eval automates reliability checks, identifying and mitigating potential errors and risks in AI service operations—the first of its kind domestically. Since launch, it has been adopted by Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank. In August, Selectstar will co-host a global webinar on “AI Reliability Verification” with Citigroup’s Head of AI, anticipating rising demand from the global financial sector.

With its continued technological advancement in AI data and reliability verification, Selectstar was recently selected as part of the SKT consortium in the Ministry of Science and ICT’s National AI Foundation Model Development Project. The company will oversee the data segment, including stability verification datasets, contributing to the development of a high-quality national AI model.

Selectstar has been recognized for its global-caliber technology, being named in Forbes Korea’s “2025 Korea AI 50,” serving as the lead partner for South Korea’s first “Generative AI Red Team Challenge,” and co-hosting the “Global AI Red Team Challenge” at MWC 2025. This latest funding will be used to further enhance its reliability verification solutions and expand its global presence.

Kim Seunghwan, Head of Global Investments at KB Investment, stated, “Selectstar leads South Korea’s AI data sector and continues to set new benchmarks through relentless growth. Its solid technological edge in the emerging AI reliability verification market positions it to deliver meaningful results as AI commercialization accelerates across industries.”

Sho Yamanaka, Senior Investment Officer at Salesforce, said, “This investment marks a strategic milestone for Salesforce in expanding AI investment and operations in Korea. Through our partnership, we expect to generate strong synergies across our global AI agent business, including Agentforce.”

Kim Seyeop, CEO of Selectstar, commented, “This Series B funding validates our unique technological strength and growth potential in the emerging AI reliability verification market. We aim to make this the first year of our global expansion and evolve into a leading global AI company ensuring AI quality and safety.”