AI startup Wrtn has grown into a unicorn company and is participating as the main sponsor of the G-STAR game show, drawing attention to the reasons behind this move.
This is a first for a domestic B2C AI startup. Wrtn plans to further solidify its leading position in the AI industry through this investment.
Coreline Ventures, a U.S. VC, joined as a new investor, recognizing that the Wrtn platform is leading the entire consumer AI movement, revolutionizing how humans create, communicate, and spend time online. The ecosystem impact already being generated in Korea, Japan, and the U.S. was seen by investors as a rare combination.
Wrtn is also rapidly achieving results in overseas markets. In particular, it launched its AI character chat service 'Ora' in North America last May, and within three months of entry, it surpassed ₩10 billion in monthly revenue. In Japan, it operates under the service name 'Carap,' and currently, overseas revenue accounts for a larger proportion than domestic revenue.
This figure represents approximately 4-5 times last year's revenue of ₩47.1 billion, an unusually specific revenue target for a startup. Wrtn believes that achieving this goal is possible based on its current growth.
Wrtn has garnered significant attention by being selected as the main sponsor for G-STAR, Korea's largest game show. This marks the first time in G-STAR's 20-year history that a non-gaming company has taken on the main sponsorship. While some interpret this as a signal of Wrtn's full-fledged entry into the gaming industry, others analyze it as a practical marketing decision. There is an overlap between the potential target audience and user base of Wrtn's main service, AI character chat, and games, suggesting that participation in a large-scale gaming event could be an effective marketing tool.
They emphasized that AI and narrative are the most important focal points currently spanning the industry, and Wrtn's service 'Cracker' was highly evaluated for encompassing both. The committee stated that Wrtn's technology is the optimal partner to deepen G-STAR's content and stories.
The industry predominantly interprets Wrtn's participation as the main sponsor of G-STAR as part of a marketing strategy rather than an entry into the gaming industry. The main sponsorship position at G-STAR itself offers significant marketing effects, and with an overlap in user bases between games and AI character services like Wrtn's 'Cracker,' there is sufficient incentive for Wrtn to participate. Overseas, cases of non-traditional gaming companies participating in gaming events are also becoming more common.
Wrtn's AI character service 'Cracker' shows a tendency for its user base to align with subculture fans, such as those of anime girl characters. These users also attend events like the AGF Festival and highly value the emotional satisfaction provided by characters. Therefore, the service does not necessarily have to be a game; it focuses on forming emotional connections through AI characters. This is seen as an attempt to break away from existing large game company-centric practices and pioneer a new market.
From the perspective of corporate value and capital market valuation, Wrtn becoming a gaming company would mean its future corporate value assessment would be based on gaming company multiples. Wrtn's recent rapid growth is based on the performance of its AI character service 'Cracker,' and concerns are raised that entering the gaming industry could disadvantage its corporate valuation. In other words, being valued as an innovative AI-technology-based company is currently more beneficial for Wrtn.
Wrtn received a large-scale investment of ₩100 billion and a corporate valuation of ₩1 trillion. Such massive investment would have been difficult to secure with a strategy of becoming a gaming company. Investors expect Wrtn to grow as a company that pioneers and innovates the AI market rather than as a gaming company. Therefore, a transition to a gaming company does not align with the vision presented during the investment attraction process, which is the general consensus in the industry.
By combining image generation technology, they enable situational연출 and customized story development based on user requests. This provides an immersive and engaging experience, similar to playing a game, thereby enhancing entertainment elements.
Traditional major game companies are taking a cautious stance on entering the AI character chat market. While large game companies possess sufficient capabilities to develop AI character chat services, which have lower development difficulty, they are refraining from direct entry due to concerns about content controversies and potential impact on corporate image. The lack of clear guidelines within the institutional framework is also a factor holding them back. It is assessed that if clear guidelines are established in the future, large game companies may enter this market. Currently, they are approaching it in a way that minimizes potential controversies.
They focus on hiring individuals who can provide similar value to gaming when delivering services. In fact, they are actively collaborating with mobile and indie game developers, focusing on enhancing game elements and improving user experience.
AI character chat companies are also changing their content supply methods. While previously content was often secured through user-generated content (UGC) contests, they are now making many attempts to develop their own unique services to overcome the limitations of UGC. This strategy is aimed at strengthening the platform's unique identity and providing higher quality content to enhance user satisfaction.
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