Korean AI software startup Upstage has raised approximately USD 46 million(62 billion KRW) in a Series B bridge round from leading domestic and global investors. The round was led by the Korea Development Bank (KDB), which actively invests across the AI value chain including semiconductors, foundation models, and applications. Global corporations Amazon and AMD joined as new investors, alongside existing and new participants such as Intervest, KB Securities, Primer Sazze Partners, Shinhan Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, and Premier Partners.

Upstage stated: “Amid intensifying global AI competition, investors recognized our world-class technology and execution capability as a strategic asset for the Korean AI ecosystem.”

This investment marks a significant milestone for Upstage as it accelerates its global expansion. The company will continue to enhance its flagship AI offerings, including its frontier-grade language model “Solar” and advanced document processing solutions, while intensifying its international market push.

In parallel, Upstage has entered a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to drive AI innovation across the U.S. and Asia-Pacific. Amazon also made a minority equity investment. Under this collaboration, Upstage has designated AWS as its primary cloud provider and will leverage Amazon SageMaker, AWS Trainium, and AWS Inferentia chips to advance its AI models. The company also plans to significantly expand its model distribution via the Amazon Bedrock Marketplace and other AWS infrastructure.

Following this round, Upstage’s cumulative funding has reached approximately USD 148 million(200 billion KRW). Since its founding in 2020, Upstage has raised a Series A round of USD 23 million(31.6 billion KRW) in 2021 and a Series B round of USD 74 million(100 billion KRW) in 2024, securing one of the largest funding totals among Korean AI software companies and edging closer to unicorn status.

CEO Sung-hoon Kim remarked: “The participation of Amazon and AMD represents a turning point for Upstage’s leap into the global AI arena. With our proprietary models and solutions, we aim to establish a leading ‘K-AI’ success story worldwide.”

Separately, Upstage was recently named the lead organization in the “Independent AI Foundation Model Development” national consortium led by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, reinforcing its position as a national champion in AI with both technological excellence and execution capability.