[Weekly M&A] Big Tech Accelerates Securing AI Dominance... Mobility and Robotics Surge Amid Large-Scale Capital Injections

[Weekly Pitch: VC & M&A]

This is this week's core venture investment and M&A briefing brought to you by News Epoch. (2026.01.23 ~ 2026.01.30)

In this week's venture investment and M&A market, large-scale fundings and strategic mergers and acquisitions were actively carried out amid intensifying competition among global Big Tech companies to preoccupy artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In particular, significant movements were captured in the AI, robotics, and mobility sectors, followed by a series of large-scale investment cases exceeding 10 billion won. Despite the uncertainty of the global economy, growth expectations based on technological innovation are spreading throughout the market.

Large-Scale Investments Active Amid 2 Trillion Won Big Deals

Global Big Tech's competition to secure AI technology is the biggest topic in the market this week. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) entered the AI wearable market in earnest by acquiring an Israeli startup with AI technology that interprets user intentions for about 2 trillion won. This suggests that giant tech companies are aggressively internalizing AI capabilities for user interface innovation and future market preoccupation.

In South Korea, new drug developer 1st Biotherapeutics proved the potential of the bio sector by attracting a 31.7 billion won Series D investment. The growth trend in the mobility sector is also clear. EV charging platform Pluglink secured 20 billion won, and non-face-to-face automobile service broker Design & Practice secured a 15.1 billion won Series A investment, respectively.

The position of the future air mobility market is also strengthening. PABLO AIR attracted an 11 billion won pre-IPO investment from Korean Air (KRX: 003490) and LIG Nex1 (KRX: 079550). In addition, information disclosure platform CrossAngle received a 10 billion won investment, and organic sanitary pad developer Inertia received a 10 billion won investment, securing growth engines in their respective areas. AI company Upstage signed a strategic partnership with Kakao (KRX: 035720) to advance AI technology. The two companies launched a joint venture (JV) AXZ and plan to accelerate the transition to an AI-based platform by combining the content data of the portal 'Daum' with Upstage's own large language model Solar.

AI, Robotics, and Energy Emerge as Core Sectors Leading the Future Market

AI has established itself as the core driving force leading innovation across all industries. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) accelerated its evolution into a 'physical AI' company by breaking away from the existing internal combustion engine vehicle production system and converting its Fremont factory into a production base for the humanoid robot 'Optimus'. Meta (NASDAQ: META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) also saw mixed market evaluations depending on their AI investment performance, showing that AI capabilities are becoming the measure that determines corporate value.

In the domestic startup market, the surge of AI-based companies was also prominent. Cloud platform AIV and AI solution developer Triple O's each attracted Pre-A investments, while Ailit, which has AI appraisal technology for real assets, and Factagora, a fact-checking solution, also succeeded in securing seed funding. Customer counseling AI's Team KAI, financial recommendation platform Kira & Company, and edutech company Codeit were chosen by investors by proving the practical applicability of their technologies.

Business restructuring in the robotics and energy sectors is also active. Davolink (KOSDAQ: 340360) is seeking to improve its constitution into a robotics business through the acquisition of Roadrunner, a company specializing in autonomous mobile robots. In the energy sector, MeTech Holdings with methane emission measurement technology and Midbar in smart agriculture attracted investments, reflecting the market's high interest in ESG technologies.

Accelerated Business Structure Restructuring through M&A

Movements to restructure the market through M&A were also lively. Image sensor packaging specialist Iwinplus (KOSDAQ: 123010) was acquired by RN2 Technologies (KOSDAQ: 148250) for 14.5 billion won, and edutech company D.SHARE foreshadowed market changes as it was acquired by math content company Gaenyumwonri. Secondhand trading platform Joonggonara also captured the market's attention by initiating procedures with the goal of a sale in the second half of the year.

Investment attraction in the content and Web3 sectors also continued. Virtual IP company SCON secured 8.5 billion won, and K-content specialist Next Level Studio secured 3.5 billion won. Token securities platform BuySell Standard and music analysis solution Naivy also succeeded in attracting investments, showing the growth potential of new markets. In addition, early-stage startups in various fields such as Pointbreak, Mobi Contents Tech, Loca101, Yisoop Company, Pierrot Company, and Sonaverse have received capital injections to expand their businesses.

[Epoch Point]

This week's venture investment market maintained a solid flow as large-scale domestic and international investments intertwined amid the intensifying battle for AI dominance among global Big Tech companies. In particular, AI, robotics, and mobility have emerged as the core axes driving the market, and business restructuring through strategic asset purchases by companies is accelerating. The movement of capital to preoccupy technological innovation is expected to become even fiercer in the future.