Insight
Rhee: Enabling technology usually does not make much money directly
“Usually, enabling technology does not make a lot of money.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rhee: Mobile apps will not disappear because companies will not unify
“Actually, I don't agree that apps will disappear, and here's why. If you have a four, let's say you have a 30 different apps, in theory, you don't need 30 apps. You need, maybe, if all these vendors and companies work together for one single app, that can do e…”
Disclosure
Rhee: LG Nova aims to build multi-billion dollar software spinouts
“Our job, my job, is to create six fifths and six sixth of those multi-billion dollar companies that are very different from the composition of LG that they have right now. Okay. Much more software focused, much more service oriented businesses.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rhee: Standalone AI Models Won't Make Money at Expected Scale
“AI itself, will it make money itself, the model, and LLM? Some will, I believe, but not in the scale that we're looking at. Really, it's going to come down to where we apply the AI, and it doesn't matter which sector it is.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rhee: Real market value will eventually be in vertical application AI startups
“Eventually, there will be a lot of the application-focused startups or vertical-focused startups that leverage, say, I think that's sort of really real market is, but I also understand, without infrastructure, we cannot get there.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Rhee: AI lets startups launch with one or two people, not ten
“The companies that new startups are coming in previously maybe took 10 people to start a company, decent you know, ramp up. Now they can do it, you know, one person or two. Basically that's because it makes easier for startups to do what they did using enterpr…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Rhee: In 10 to 15 years, home-assisting robots may become a reality
“10 years, 15 years, I think it will happen. So then, all the sci-fi movies that we are seeing hopefully, maybe robots helping us at home, it may not be a stretch.”
Disclosure
Rhee: LG Nova only invests when a collaboration plan exists
“We have a very specific investment philosophy. We invest into startups only when we know we're going to work with them. It's not like we invest in them and then try to figure out what to do with them.”
Insight
Corporate venture money cannot guarantee startup longevity to enterprise buyers
“Investment has a limited liability, meaning that you just put in money, and the worst case scenario, you lose the money. So from the customer's perspective, okay, you have an investor, large investor, that's good for you if you are a startup, but that doesn't …”
Insight
Rhee: Internal R&D lab incubation fails for software and service businesses
“When they try to start from pure R&D and in the lab, they try, I mean, that's a typical and traditional way to create new business in hardware world. But that doesn't work very well in a non-hardware and service-oriented world.”
Disclosure
LG Nova packages startups into co-created LG entities for enterprise buyers
“We jointly create the business. LG creates our own business, which we call ourselves a NewCo or CMBU, and startups become part of it, becomes the integral part of the business. So when it go to the big customers, we don't just go to go there as a startup. We g…”
Assertion Supported
Rhee: LG spun out healthcare startup Prime Focus
“We have a healthcare company we just spun out about three months ago, which is called Prime Focus. That was the first company we developed and established through this process that we just mentioned.”
Disclosure
Rhee: Most LG Nova startup partnerships use revenue sharing
“Most of the partnerships we get into with the startups, it comes to the revenue sharing. So whatever we do together they get a cut, we get a cut. So that's how usually it's structured. I mean, some startups prefer straightforward licensing. We are happy to dis…”
Assertion Supported
Rhee: Vast majority of LG's roughly 64 companies focus on manufacturing
“LG, you know, LG Umbrella, there are about 64 companies. It changes every year plus minus, but there are about 64 companies, including, including LG Chemical you know, LG Energy Solutions, and all these things. Even, they even have a telco in Korea. There are …”
