By Hamza Faisal

SK Networks is deepening its bet on South Korea's artificial intelligence champion. The trading and ICT-distribution affiliate of SK Group said in a regulatory filing on Monday that it will invest an additional ₩20 billion, about $14 million, in AI startup Upstage by acquiring 36,428 shares in cash.


The investment takes the form of participation in Upstage's Series C-2 funding round, and the share purchase is scheduled to close on November 30. Once completed, SK Networks' holdings will rise to 465,075 shares, representing an expected stake of 11.5 percent, although the final figure could shift as the transaction proceeds.


A bet that now totals $106 million


This is far from SK Networks' first check. The company led Upstage's Series B round in early 2024 with ₩25 billion, followed with ₩47 billion through a call option exercise earlier this year, and added another ₩50 billion in the Series C round.


The new ₩20 billion top-up brings its cumulative investment to roughly ₩142 billion, or about $106 million, making SK Networks one of the startup's most committed backers.


The disclosure, filed with South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, notes that the deal amounts to roughly one percent of SK Networks' consolidated equity as of the end of last year.


An SK Networks official said the transaction is aimed at strengthening the company's cooperative relationship with Upstage and boosting the competitiveness of its AI-centered businesses.


The race to build Korea's own AI



The timing matters because Upstage sits at the center of South Korea's sovereign AI ambitions. Founded in 2020 by Kim Sung-hoon, a former Hong Kong University of Science and Technology professor who previously led AI development at NAVER, Upstage became the first South Korean AI software company to reach unicorn status.


The startup is now competing in a three-way race with SK Telecom and the LG AI Research Institute in a government-led project to develop a homegrown AI foundation model.


In January 2026, Upstage was the only startup selected in the first evaluation round of the national “Independent AI Foundation Model Project,” a nod to its technical standing.


Its Solar small language model has drawn international attention, and the company is the first domestic AI startup to collect 10 gold medals on the Kaggle machine-learning competition platform.


Why SK Networks keeps buying


SK Networks has said it wants to use its global network to help Upstage expand internationally while fusing the startup's private large-language-model technology with its own data businesses.


The two companies have discussed combining Upstage's models with En-core, the data management and solutions company SK Networks acquired, to offer tailored AI solutions to enterprise customers across finance, government, and commerce.


With the Series C-2 round now drawing one of its earliest and deepest-pocketed supporters back to the table, Upstage enters the next phase of Korea's AI race with fresh momentum — and a balance sheet firmly aligned with one of the country's biggest conglomerates.
By Hamza Faisal