실리콘 밸리 최대 초기 스타트업 투자 펀드 회사 중 하나인 500스타트업 (500 Sartups)의 엘리자베스 인 (Elizabeth Yin) 총괄은 미국 실리콘 밸리에서는 다른 곳에서 할 수 없는 “눈이 번쩍 뜨이는 경험”을 할 수 있다고 한다.　그 이유는 첫째, 500스타트업의 두 엑셀러레이터 프로그램인 마운틴 뷰(Mountain View)와 샌프란시스코(San Francisco)는 스타트업들이 실리콘벨리의 소위 거물들과 즉시 연결 가능하도록 도와줄 수 있고, 둘째, 500스타트업의 사람들과 스타트업 종사자들이 생면부지인 다른 스타트업 종사자들을 위해 돕는 일에 열정을 쏟기 때문이라고 한다. 엘리자베스 인(Elizabeth Yin)　“하지만 동시에 실리콘 벨리는 아주 경쟁이 심하고, 바로 그러한 치열한 경쟁이 사람들을 더욱 빠르게 움직일 수 있도록 하는 원동력이 된다,”라고 엘리자베스 인 총괄은 서울을 방문한 지난 8월 16일 코리아헤럴드/인베스터와의 인터뷰에서 말했다.　실리콘

    최근 부모의 부의 정도에 따라 금수저, 은수저, 흙수저로 개인의 신분을 나누는 수저 계급론이 이슈가 되기도 했다.     부모로 부터 물려 받은 부에 따라 계급이 나뉜다는 자조적인 표현으로, 요즘 10대에서 부터 30대 사이까지 특히 자주 쓰이는 표현이기도 하다.　수저 계급론은 IT업계, 특히, 스마트폰 앱 시장에서도 쉽게 볼 수 있다. SK텔레콤, KT, LG유플러스 이동통신 3사들이 운영하는 스마트폰 앱들은 금수저와 은수저를 입에 물고 태어난 자식들이다. 　현재 국내에는 약 4천 5백만명의 스마트 폰 사용자가 있고, 소비자들 대부분은 이들 3사를 통해 이동통신 서비스를 이용하고 있다. 또한 소비자들의 스마트 폰에는 SK텔레콤, KT, LG유플러스의 자체 앱 들이 깔려 있다.　이동통신회사들은 손쉽게 4천 5백만명에 달하는 소비자들을 대상으로 자신들의 서비스들을 마케팅을 하고 있는 것이다. 　반면, 이동통신 회사들과 비슷한 서비스를 하는 스타트업이나 회사들의 앱의 경우는 흙수

[THE INVESTOR] Kakao’s stock price closed down 1,700 won (US$1.51), or 2.1 percent, at a 52-week low of 79,300 won on Aug. 29, continuing its weeks-long losing streak on the nation’s tech-heavy stock market KOSDAQ.Market analysts said that the tumbling stock price is due to market concerns over the disappointing performance of the firm’s online-to-offline businesses and the decreasing profits of the company’s ad business.In the April-June period, Kakao saw its sales and operating profit increase

[THE INVESTOR] IC chip solutions developer Kona I is preparing to roll out a mobile smart card solution in China, according to the firm on Aug. 29.Jo Jeong-il, the chief executive of the Korean firm, was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying, “Kona I is in talks with Chinese companies, including the third largest financial firm, to tap into the Chinese market with Kona Money, a mobile smart card solution.”A model poses with a smart card developed by Kona I and fingerprint module maker CrucialTe

[THE INVESTOR] US-based software giant Microsoft has reportedly filed a complaint at the National Tax Service in Korea, seeking a refund of 600 billion won (US$532.80 million) withholding tax it paid over the past years. The US software firm is said to have requested a reassessment, claiming that NTS levied taxes on royalties paid by Korean firms for the use of its patents, which are registered in the US.Imposing taxes on the profits of patents not registered in the nation has been ruled illegal

[THE INVESTOR] Since 2007, Google has sought to utilize the government-generated 1:5000-scale map of Korea to improve its Google Maps service, but to no avail. The Korean government has not given the California-based firm the green light for the firm’s request which would mean housing the information outside the peninsular, citing national security as a major reason. Related article: Korean gov’t delays decision on Google’s map data requestSouth Korea, which is technically still at war with neig

[THE INVESTOR] A federal judge has tripled a fine against Samsung Electronics, which is accused of infringing on digital photography patents, according to reports. US district judge Amos Mazzant in Sharman, Texas, slapped the Korean tech giant with a fine of US$21 million, up from an initial US$7 million, saying the firm misrepresented facts and offered false testimony at trial.In February, the jury delivered a verdict that the Korean firm’s smartphone and tablet PC cameras had violated three pa

[THE INVESTOR] Web portal operator Naver has expanded its partnerships with motel-booking app operators Yanolja and WithInnovation to provide motel information and booking services. Naver and Yanolja have been in partnership since 2013, providing a vast amount of motel information, including locations and pictures of the motels.With the renewed partnership, Yanolja said it would increase the accommodation options available on the Naver web portal to more than 5,000. The start-up offers on the we

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Securities, one of Samsung Group’s financial business units, said on Aug. 26 that it would adopt a stock trading system next month that would allow users to authenticate themselves with the iris scanner fitted in Samsung Electronics ’ Galaxy Note 7. A Samsung Securities official said, “The identification through the Note 7’s iris scanner, along with the public digital authentication certificate, will be available on Samsung Securities’ mobile trading system.”Other stock tr

[THE INVESOTR] Samsung Display, the display-making unit of Samsung Electronics, has recently ceased production of transparent organic light-emitting diode displays(OLED) possibly due to still-low marketability. The display manufacturer rolled out the futuristic displays at a production facility located in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, with the prototypes displayed at such locations as BMW’s driving center on Incheon’s Yeongjongdo Island. “The V1 production line is mainly used for research an

[THE INVESTOR] The Korean government has delayed making its final decision on whether to let Google bring the government-generated 1:5,000-scale map data out of the nation for the firm’s full-fledged map services here.The decision could have a significant impact on not only Google but also the local internet and mobile services market, according the National Geographical Information Insititute, in charge of reviewing Google’s request to export the mapping data. If the Korean government makes a d

[THE INVESTOR] Tech giant IBM, together with Korean information technology solutions firm SK Holdings C&C, launched a new cloud data center in Korea on Aug. 25 to cater to ever-growing demand for cloud services here. The new IBM Cloud Data Center, built at SK Holdings C&C’s data center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, is Big Blue’s ninth data center in the Asia-Pacific region, and part of the company’s global network of 47 Cloud Data Centers.In doing so, the US tech giant chose local SK Holdings C&

[THE INVESTOR] HANMI Semiconductor said Aug. 25 it has established a research and development center to develop laser equipment used in manufacturing chips.“In order to meet the increasing demand for the laser equipment for chip manufacturing, HANMI Semiconductor will roll out a wide range of manufacturing devices by beefing up its R&D capability and hiring more talent,” said Kim Min-hyeon, the chief executive of the chipmaker. Laser-based chip manufacturing devices are in high demand thanks to

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has reportedly launched a beta test to enable its smartwatches and fitness bands to be paired with California-based Apple’s devices running on the iOS operating system.The beta test to link the Gear S2 and Gear Fit 2 with iOS were to be run from Aug. 24 to Sept. 19, according to news reports.  Samsung Electronics’ Gear S2It has long been anticipated that Samsung would eventually team up with its archrival Apple to galvanize the still-fledgling global wearables

[THE INVESTOR] A Korean woman on Aug. 24 claimed that Samsung Electronics' latest smartphone Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging, dealing a blow to the hot-selling large-size phone since its Aug. 19 launch. 　Samsung said it will begin an inspection to determine the exact cause of the explosion. 　The woman said in an online community: “My boyfriend’s Galaxy Note 7 exploded while charging overnight. It’s been less than a week since he started using the phone. I woke up by the bang and the smell

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ mobile payment solution Samsung Pay has sailed past the milestone of 100 million transactions in the global market since its release a year ago in Korea.Since its first release in the Korean market, the mobile solution has been launched in a total of seven global markets, including the US, China, Spain and Brazil.The tech giant has not unveiled the exact transaction volume in the global markets, but it said the transaction volume in Korea alone had exceeded 2

[THE INVESTOR] Preinstalled smartphone apps have been a bone of contention since the early days of smartphones. The apps fitted on smartphones regardless of consumers’ preferences have often faced flak for creating a range of nuisances, such as unnecessary consumption of power and storage space and eliminating the right of consumer choice. Google, which dominates the world’s smartphone operating system market, has been bashed for requiring global phone-makers to preinstall a suite of the firm’s

[THE INVESTOR] Chinese internet giant Tencent said Aug. 22 that it would expand its mobile payment service WeChat Pay in Korea in a bid to better cater to the increasing number of Chinese travelers to the nation. “Korea is one of the favorite destinations for Chinese travelers. Tencent is pleased to be able to expand its payment service in the Korean market and will provide better services for Chinese visitors with WeChat Pay,” said Lilian Huang, director of Tencent’s business operations.  Lilia

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics’ smartphone sales in the April-June period outgunned the combined sales of Apple of the US and Huawei of China, according to market research firm Garner on Aug. 19.Samsung sold 76.7 million smartphones, accounting for 22.3 percent of the global market, during the three months, while Apple sold 44.4 million units, or 12.9 percent, and Huawei sold 30.7 million, or 8.9 percent. Samsung Galaxy Note 7The three companies took the top three spots in the global smartph

[THE INVESTOR] Tokyo-headquartered game developer Nexon will set up its exhibition booths in its largest scale ever for the G-Star game show, which will kick off Nov. 17, according to the firm on Aug. 19.The game company said it would install 400 booths at its exhibition venue during the event to be held in Busan. They will feature the firm’s existing and new game titles. Nexon has participated in Korea’s largest game trade show for 12 consecutive years.In the previous show in 2015, the firm unv