JB Financial Group has invested 40 billion won ($28 million) in Upstage, a South Korean artificial intelligence company, acquiring a stake of about 2%.
Three affiliates — The Jeonbuk Bank, The Kwangju Bank and JB Woori Capital — signed a 40 billion won Series C-2 investment agreement with Upstage, JB Financial said on the 20th. The affiliates led the first tranche of the round, and Upstage plans to continue raising additional funds.
The investment follows a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership for financial and AI technology and business cooperation that the two sides signed on Sept. 14. Since then, they have discussed joint projects including the development of AI agents for use in financial operations.
JB Financial has been pursuing a group-wide AI transformation this year, applying AI technology to key operations such as IT development, compliance and corporate lending. On the back of the investment, the group plans to work with Upstage on jointly developing finance-specific AI agents, AI training and staff exchanges for employees, and regional AI projects in partnership with local governments and universities.
"We will treat AI not as a simple tool to assist work but as a means to structurally transform how we work and our productivity, creating a real success case of AI transformation for a financial group," JB Financial Group Chairman Kim Ki-hong said.