South Korean popular culture—spanning K-pop, dramas, and films—continues to capture the world’s attention. Meanwhile, the country’s startups, though not yet achieving the same level of global recognition, are steadily gaining traction in international markets. Driving this progress are ambitious young innovators, equipped with bold ideas and cutting-edge technology, eager to make their mark on the world stage. In this series, We highlight their journeys, uncovering their aspirations, challenges, and visions for the future. [Editor’s note]
As digitization accelerates globally, artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from a technological trend to a cornerstone of national competitiveness. Transforming industries ranging from manufacturing to healthcare, AI is also revolutionizing the financial sector. Hedge funds and investment institutions are increasingly adopting AI to navigate volatile market conditions, harnessing its advanced analytical and predictive capabilities to overcome the limitations of human intuition and experience.
A South Korean-founded startup, Linq, has recently captured significant attention within the U.S. investment community. Established in 2022, Linq was co-founded by Choi Chan-yeol, a Ph.D. graduate in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Pang Su-been, who holds a Ph.D. in Computational Science and Engineering from MIT; Choi Ho-jun, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs; and Kim Yong-jin, a quantitative research analyst. Boasting a highly credentialed team, Linq has secured early-stage funding from notable investors, including Kakao Ventures, Smilegate Investment, Atinum Partners, and Techstars, cementing its reputation as one of the most promising startups in the U.S. hedge fund sector.
Linq has established an AI-driven platform designed to assist hedge funds in analyzing market trends through advanced algorithms and machine learning technology. The system processes a wide range of data, including regulatory filings and public statements made by CEOs on social media and during appearances, consolidating this information into a user-friendly platform for analysts. Linq Alpha, its subscription-based service available exclusively to hedge funds, is gaining popularity by enabling the evaluation of hundreds of companies in a single day.
ChosunBiz recently spoke with Linq’s two of the four Co-founders Choi Chan-yeol and Choi Ho-jun, both of whom have been recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Throughout the conversation, their commitment to “changing the world through technology” stood out.
What inspired you to establish Linq?
Choi Chan-yeol: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, while pursuing my Ph.D. in the U.S., universities began shutting down. The disruptions prompted me to question the societal relevance of my research. This period of reflection shifted my focus to areas where I could make an immediate impact. Around that time, I met Pang Su-been, who was grappling with similar concerns. Together, we entered one of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)’s global AI competitions focused on medical imaging. Winning that competition became the catalyst for our journey into the startup world.”
The competition centered on medical imaging, but Linq now operates in a different field. Did that come about as a result of a pivot?
Choi Chan-yeol: “That’s right. After winning the IEEE competition, we pivoted about ten times. Initially, we focused on medical imaging, the area that secured us the competition win. However, we quickly realized that this path wasn’t practical for a startup. The high costs of obtaining FDA approval and the nearly year-long institutional review board (IRB) process to gather patient data posed significant challenges. Developing an in-house solution for hospitals no longer seemed viable, so we shifted our focus to collaborating with insurance companies.
This shift led us to discover a critical need within the insurance sector—the ability to process tens of thousands of documents not through traditional keyword-based methods but with natural language understanding. To address this, we developed a search engine capable of handling natural language queries as if it were a person. When we integrated this internally developed search engine with ChatGPT introduced in late 2022, it began delivering real, tangible value to users.”
What exactly is Linq’s current focus?
Choi Ho-jun: “Linq has developed Linq Alpha, an AI platform specifically designed for hedge funds. This platform leverages Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which integrates search engines with generative AI models like ChatGPT. Our initial applications of this technology were in the legal and insurance sectors. Drawing on my experience at a legal tech firm, Choi Chan-yeol and I created South Korea’s first legal search engine powered by RAG.
Over time, we realized the transformative potential of our search technology to significantly enhance productivity for knowledge workers, especially in specialized fields. This insight ultimately led us to focus on the highly volatile financial sector, where hedge funds—renowned for their trend sensitivity and substantial purchasing power—proved to be the perfect target market. From that point forward, the four of us dedicated ourselves to fully developing ‘Linq Alpha’ to enhance investment research for hedge funds.”
How does Linq differentiate itself from competitors like ChatGPT?
Choi Chan-yeol: “What sets us apart is our proprietary search technology. While many search engines focus on enhancing the accuracy of generative AI, few provide comprehensive, industry-specific solutions. A key feature of Linq’s technology is its embedding model, which converts words into numerical vectors for more precise searches. As of this May, the model secured the top position in the text retrieval evaluation on Hugging Face’s Massive Text Embedding Benchmark (MTEB) leaderboard, outperforming models from OpenAI and NVIDIA.”
Choi Ho-jun: “Another key strength is our ability to generate insights on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often lack comprehensive datasets or detailed reports. This capability is highly valued by hedge fund analysts, whose portfolios frequently include SMEs alongside major corporations. Linq also streamlines the process of conducting unified searches across vast datasets, such as the S&P 500, with just a single query.
Choi Chan-yeol: “Domain expertise is another defining factor. Our team consists of specialists with deep knowledge of hedge fund operations and structures, enabling us to deliver high-quality results even in the early stages of development.
Finally, our collaborative culture sets us apart. Team members with diverse expertise actively share knowledge and learn from one another, allowing us to tackle challenging deadlines with efficiency and precision.”
Why is AI critical in the investment sector?
Choi Chan-yeol: “Creating business value comes from accelerating what is already achievable, while innovation arises from making the previously impossible possible. Generative AI fulfills both.
In the past, analysts spent hundreds of hours manually poring over reports, but AI now enables them to process this information far more quickly. I believe this enhanced efficiency will lead to a future where broader understanding drives even greater investment insights.”
What areas do you think require further development?
Choi Ho-jun: “Hedge funds remain relatively underdeveloped and underrepresented in South Korea. Consequently, most of Linq’s target clients are currently based in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Expanding our presence in South Korea is a major goal we’re aiming for in the future.”
What is Linq’s goal for this year?
Choi Ho-jun: “Our aim is to completely transform our clients’ workflows. In 2024, we’re focused on helping clients handle over 50% more tasks in less time, fundamentally changing how they work.”
What is Linq’s ultimate vision?
Choi Chan-yeol: “Our vision is to create a solution that financial professionals worldwide rely on every day. By enabling investors to seamlessly document and access years of decisions and deliberations, we aspire to make Linq Alpha an indispensable tool.”
Any final remarks?
Choi Chan-yeol: “Our founding mission—'changing the world through technology’—continues to drive everything we do. Even if our names are forgotten over time, we hope Linq Alpha becomes a product that clients love and remember.”
☞ Who is Choi Chan-yeol and Choi Ho-jun
Co-founder & CEO Choi Chan-yeol graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and completed his master’s and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering at MIT. He previously worked as an engineer at Qualcomm and Boston Scientific and was recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his achievements.
Co-founder & COO Choi Ho-jun majored in Political Science & International Relations and Business Administration at Seoul National University. He worked at Goldman Sachs’ Hong Kong office, focusing on fintech startup financing in the Asia-Pacific region, and later at Macquarie PE’s Seoul office, managing corporate buyouts and real asset acquisitions. He also gained experience at the legal tech startup Law & Good. He was also named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.
