Korea’s AI frontier is gaining global visibility as AWS selects RLWRLD Inc. and Trillion Labs for its prestigious Generative AI Accelerator Program. Their inclusion marks a pivotal shift for Korea’s deep-tech ecosystem — moving advanced AI research into scalable global business models. With this milestone, global investors and policymakers are witnessing how Korean innovation is steadily securing its place in the global AI economy.
Korean AI Startups Selected for AWS Global Accelerator
Two Korean AI startups — RLWRLD Inc. and Trillion Labs — have been selected by Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its Generative AI Accelerator Program, marking a pivotal moment in Korea’s AI industry as it expands from research-driven innovation to global commercialization.
The program identifies 40 high-potential startups worldwide, and RLWRLD and Trillion Labs were the only participants chosen from Korea. Both will receive up to US$1 million (₩1.43 billion) in AWS service credits and participate in an eight-week accelerator beginning October 14 in Seattle, culminating in AWS re:Invent 2025 — the world’s largest cloud computing conference — this December in Las Vegas.
AWS Generative AI Accelerator: Supporting Next-Generation Global AI Leaders
Launched in 2023, the AWS Generative AI Accelerator aims to empower emerging companies that hold proprietary generative AI technologies and are within five years of founding. The program targets startups that have secured Series A funding or earlier, maintain over 51% founder ownership, and are led by an active Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Startups accepted into the program receive mentoring, education, and infrastructure support to strengthen technical scalability and business readiness. This year’s selection was highly competitive, with a 50:1 acceptance ratio. The 2025 cohort includes 40 startups — half the number chosen in 2024 — underscoring the program’s selectivity and AWS’s focus on depth over scale.
Previous Korean participants have included Neosapience (AI voice content), RealDraw (AI webtoon production), and LionRocket (AI-generated content).
RLWRLD Inc.: Advancing Robotic Foundation Models
Founded in 2024, RLWRLD Inc. develops robotic foundation models (RFM) — AI systems that enable robots to replicate human dexterity and adapt to real-world industrial environments. The company plans to unveil a demonstration model later this year, representing a significant milestone for Korea’s robotics and AI convergence sector.
RLWRLD was established by leading figures in Korea’s startup and academic communities: CEO Ryu Joong-hee, a serial entrepreneur who previously sold his image-recognition startup Olaworks to Intel in 2012, and Professor Shin Jin-woo, a renowned AI scholar and endowed chair at KAIST’s Kim Jae-Chul Graduate School of AI.
Their collaboration positions RLWRLD as a bridge between Korea’s academic AI research and commercial robotics applications, aligning closely with the government’s strategy to build industrial AI capacity in manufacturing and logistics.
Trillion Labs: Building Korea’s Largest Homegrown Language Model
Also founded in 2024, Trillion Labs has emerged as one of Korea’s most ambitious AI model developers. The company independently built a large language model (LLM) specialized in the Korean language — “Tri-70B” — with 70 billion parameters, the largest of its kind developed domestically.
The startup was founded by CEO Shin Jae-min, a graduate of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and former AI engineer at Amazon and Naver. By building its model entirely from scratch, Trillion Labs aims to strengthen Korea’s independence in LLM infrastructure, a domain still dominated by global players such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Its inclusion in the AWS accelerator provides access to high-performance compute environments and advanced optimization frameworks, accelerating the commercialization of Korean-language AI models for enterprise and cross-border applications.
Strengthening Korea’s Global AI Footprint
The selection of RLWRLD and Trillion Labs signals growing global recognition of Korea’s AI deep-tech ecosystem, which has evolved rapidly through collaboration between universities, private R&D teams, and government initiatives.
For policymakers, it demonstrates how Korean AI startups can achieve global traction when supported by scalable cloud ecosystems like AWS. For founders and investors, it highlights the commercial potential of AI infrastructure and foundation-model startups — sectors that are increasingly prioritized in national innovation policies and international funding portfolios.
The participation of Korean teams in AWS’s global accelerator also reinforces Korea’s strategic position as an AI innovation hub in Asia, complementing national efforts under programs such as K-Cloud, Digital Platform Government, and AI Semiconductor Strategy 2030.
Global Visibility for Korean AI Startups Through AWS re:Invent 2025
Both startups will complete their accelerator journey by joining AWS re:Invent 2025 in Las Vegas this December, where they will have the chance to showcase their technologies to global investors, enterprises, and research collaborators.
Their participation will help Korea’s AI ecosystem gain broader exposure within international networks, driving cross-border partnerships and technology transfer opportunities.
As global demand for trustworthy, multilingual, and industry-ready AI systems rises, RLWRLD and Trillion Labs represent a new wave of Korean innovators positioning research excellence for global commercial impact.
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