Naver's startup investment organization, Naver D2SF, has made its third follow-up investment in Endlight, which possesses technology for generating 3D data necessary for physical artificial intelligence (AI) training. As the physical AI market expands, securing data for robots to learn in real environments has become a key challenge, prompting Naver to strengthen its collaboration with related data infrastructure companies.
Naver D2SF announced on August 11 that it has completed its third follow-up investment in Endlight, following its pre-Series A and Series A rounds. The latest investment round was led by the Industrial Bank of Korea, with a total investment amounting to 15 billion won.
Endlight has developed a 3D data generation solution called 'Trinix,' which can be directly utilized for physical AI training simulations based on its proprietary engine.
Physical AI requires vast amounts of training data for robots to operate and work in the real world. While methods such as teleoperation are used to collect actual data, they are limited by time and cost. Additionally, to use the collected data in simulations, physical characteristics must be further incorporated.
Endlight has established a pipeline that automatically generates 3D data reflecting not only physical properties like mass and friction but also joint structures and collision range information. This enables faster data acquisition for physical AI training and supports its application in simulations.
Currently, Endlight provides AI training data to companies such as Holiday Robotics, Aerobot, Robros, and RealWorld, which focus on humanoid robots and robot foundation models.
Naver D2SF continues to invest in Endlight, recognizing the potential of its technology to become a core infrastructure in the era of physical AI. Following its initial investment in 2021 and a subsequent investment in 2022, this marks the third investment.
Notably, this investment goes beyond mere financial support; it seeks to explore collaboration possibilities between Naver and Endlight in the field of physical AI. Naver D2SF has previously worked with Endlight to establish a 3D content production environment and plans to expand their collaboration into the physical AI data sector with this additional investment.
Yang Sang-hwan, head of Naver D2SF, stated, “Endlight is a team that has built trust through close interaction, not just through investment, as they are also based at Naver 1784. They have proactively captured key opportunities in a rapidly changing market and executed quickly. I expect them to leap forward as a leading company in physical AI data and grow even larger in the future.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
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