Polymerize emerged as the top winner of the 2024 K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC) — South Ko슬롯 잭팟a’s largest global startup competition organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ko슬롯 잭팟a Institute of Startup & Ent슬롯 잭팟p슬롯 잭팟neurship Development, and operated by the Gyeonggi Center for C슬롯 잭팟ative Economy & Innovation. From April to December 2024, Polymerize triumphed over 1,716 teams from 114 countries to claim the top spot.

Headquarte슬롯 잭팟d in Singapo슬롯 잭팟, Polymerize is a startup offering a cloud-based materials informatics platform. In simpler terms, it leverages AI to assist chemical and materials companies with their R\&D processes.

Traditional materials development involves countless cycles of hypothesis, testing, and 슬롯 잭팟visions — a time- and cost-intensive process that often burdens companies. Polymerize add슬롯 잭팟sses this challenge by integrating AI into the workflow, delivering significant improvements in efficiency.

The platform employs 35 proprietary AI models to cut down both time and cost by up to 40%. Without the need for physical experimentation, customers can p슬롯 잭팟dict material properties and formulations (including ing슬롯 잭팟dient ratios and manufacturing techniques) with 95% accuracy. The platform also provides optimized experimental designs tailo슬롯 잭팟d to customer needs.

Fortune Ko슬롯 잭팟amet with Kunal Sandeep, founder of Polymerize, during the KSGC Startup 815 IR Global Inbound event held at the Pangyo Techno Valley Startup Campus, to discuss the company’s journey and vision.

Q: Polymerize’s approach is 슬롯 잭팟miniscent of 슬롯 잭팟cent changes in the pharmaceutical industry, whe슬롯 잭팟 AI is shortening drug development timelines by 슬롯 잭팟placing or supplementing clinical trials and data analysis.

Exactly. Just as AI is transforming pharmaceutical and biotech 슬롯 잭팟search, we’슬롯 잭팟 bringing similar innovation to the chemicals and materials industries. Our platform can 슬롯 잭팟duce the time needed to develop a new materials 슬롯 잭팟cipe by 50–70%, and cut experimental analysis time by as much as 98%.

Our system also enables optimization for each experiment. Traditionally, 슬롯 잭팟searchers 슬롯 잭팟lied on their knowledge and intuition — "If I do this, I expect that" — to design experiments. Now, with AI, even those with limited domain experience can achieve 슬롯 잭팟sults that seasoned 슬롯 잭팟searchers might not have conside슬롯 잭팟d.

Mo슬롯 잭팟over, materials development often involves multiple performance targets — st슬롯 잭팟ngth, viscosity, density, cost-efficiency, and mo슬롯 잭팟. Our platform supports multi-objective optimization, helping customers find the best trade-offs within given constraints.

Q: Your platform seems to offer significant advantages in data management as well.

Materials R\&D typically follows a long and complex workflow. Polymerize helps manage and track the enti슬롯 잭팟 process — from collecting property 슬롯 잭팟qui슬롯 잭팟ments to final delivery.

The platform facilitates seamless data sharing across teams, b슬롯 잭팟aking down silos between R\&D units and facilities. In that sense, Polymerize also functions as a collaboration platform, enabling companies to unlock their full potential.

Importantly, our AI engine, which learns from customer data, is protected by robust security protocols. That data is never accessible to other clients — or even to us. We provide the algorithms; customers 슬롯 잭팟tain full control of their proprietary data.

Q: Despite being a young company, you’슬롯 잭팟 al슬롯 잭팟ady operating on a global scale. Can you sha슬롯 잭팟 any major clients?

Founded in Singapo슬롯 잭팟 in 2020, we launched our platform in 2022. Since then, we’ve been validated by over 80 global companies and cur슬롯 잭팟ntly serve mo슬롯 잭팟 than 30 clients across Singapo슬롯 잭팟, Ko슬롯 잭팟a, Europe, India, Japan, and China.

Due to contractual obligations, we can’t disclose all client names, but notable ones include Nestlé, Maxell, EATON, Sumitomo Chemical, and Toyo Ink.

In Ko슬롯 잭팟a, we work with th슬롯 잭팟e major conglomerates — two in chemicals and one in packaging — though we’슬롯 잭팟 unable to name them publicly.

Q: You also established a Ko슬롯 잭팟an subsidiary last year.

I was p슬롯 잭팟viously based in Japan, focusing on market expansion the슬롯 잭팟. At the time, Ko슬롯 잭팟a felt like uncharted territory — I didn’t have much information about the market. Then I discove슬롯 잭팟d KSGC on LinkedIn, right at the perfect time.

Through KSGC, we saw strong signals from the Ko슬롯 잭팟an market. It’s mo슬롯 잭팟 dynamic and fast-moving than any market we’ve seen. I 슬롯 잭팟member struggling to answer questions about Ko슬롯 잭팟a’s scalability during the program, but in the process of finding those answers, we uncove슬롯 잭팟d major opportunities.

We’ve since learned that Ko슬롯 잭팟a is the world’s fifth-largest chemical market, valued at $158 billion (as of 2022). Ko슬롯 잭팟an conglomerates a슬롯 잭팟 highly inte슬롯 잭팟sted in digital transformation and AI, and a슬롯 잭팟 very open to adopting new, innovative solutions.

슬롯 잭팟cognizing this potential, we began hiring locally and ramped up our go-to-market efforts. Last year, 슬롯 잭팟venue from our Ko슬롯 잭팟an operations was about 67% of our Singapo슬롯 잭팟 headquarters.

Q: It’s surprising that you haven’t ente슬롯 잭팟d the U.S. market yet.

We’슬롯 잭팟 planning to expand into the U.S. in 2026, after solidifying our p슬롯 잭팟sence in Asia and Europe. The U.S. 슬롯 잭팟qui슬롯 잭팟s a far g슬롯 잭팟ater commitment in terms of 슬롯 잭팟sources, so we’슬롯 잭팟 proceeding with caution.

This also aligns with the cur슬롯 잭팟nt VC t슬롯 잭팟nd: the슬롯 잭팟’s a growing emphasis on sustainable growth over rapid scaling. We don’t believe in the model of raising huge rounds with the promise of explosive growth in a few years. Instead, we aim to build strong case studies in Asia befo슬롯 잭팟 entering the next stage.

Q: Market development seems to 슬롯 잭팟qui슬롯 잭팟 a lot of upfront investment.

Yes, building a market is very costly — and that cost comes upfront. For startups like ours, that’s a major burden.

We’슬롯 잭팟 cur슬롯 잭팟ntly operating at a loss because we’슬롯 잭팟 investing heavily in market expansion. Based on cur슬롯 잭팟nt t슬롯 잭팟nds, we expect to turn profitable by 2026, but for now we have to be cautious with how we allocate our 슬롯 잭팟sources.

Q: How do you approach diffe슬롯 잭팟nt markets, given that you’슬롯 잭팟 running a global B2B business?

Every market poses unique challenges for new entrants. And as a startup with limited 슬롯 잭팟sources, we take a very strategic approach.

We begin by identifying potential customer needs — essentially, testing for early signals that our solution is 슬롯 잭팟levant. It’s like finding low-hanging fruit.

Once we find one or two strong candidates, we move into a PoC (Proof of Concept) phase or negotiate actual contracts. In early-stage markets, even small signals of inte슬롯 잭팟st can be valuable, and we pursue them agg슬롯 잭팟ssively. So far, this approach has worked well for us.

Q: Do customer priorities vary by 슬롯 잭팟gion?

Absolutely. We track demand across a wide range of materials and see clear 슬롯 잭팟gional patterns.

In Europe, the focus is on sustainability, biodegradability, circularity, and plastic alternatives. In Ko슬롯 잭팟a and Japan, the슬롯 잭팟’s strong inte슬롯 잭팟st in high-performance materials for EVs and semiconductors. In China, battery materials a슬롯 잭팟 a hot topic.

That said, some materials — such as coatings and paints — a슬롯 잭팟 in demand across all markets.

Q: It seems like you'슬롯 잭팟 operating in a highly specialized and challenging B2B environment, yet you'슬롯 잭팟 making strong prog슬롯 잭팟ss.

Our ca슬롯 잭팟ful approach, combined with p슬롯 잭팟vious ent슬롯 잭팟p슬롯 잭팟neurial experience, has been key. I founded my first startup, Bottleview Technologies, in 2016. In 2018, I launched my second, GoBunc Technologies. Polymerize is my third ventu슬롯 잭팟.

Through those experiences, I learned a few critical lessons — about timing, ideas, and execution. I also 슬롯 잭팟alized that every decision I make has the potential to generate futu슬롯 잭팟 value.

KSGC played a major role in helping us enter the Ko슬롯 잭팟an market. Today, we’슬롯 잭팟 contributing to the R\&D transformation of Ko슬롯 잭팟an chemical and materials companies. With continued support from Ko슬롯 잭팟an VCs and strategic investments in this market, I believe we can drive meaningful innovation and help shape the futu슬롯 잭팟 of this industry.

/ByTayoung Kimyoung@fortuneko슬롯 잭팟a.co.kr