Korean startups tap Taiwan talents to develop global precision addressing platform

“We are definitely looking to Taiwan as a place to further develop our technology. Taiwan has a lot of high-caliber developers who can build on our existing framework and API,” Geo.nick founder Yohan Kwon said.

Geo.nick, a startup based in Seoul, South Korea, has built an application that allows users to pinpoint their exact location down to 1 square meter space, even when they're inside a building.

Their global addressing platform will allow smart machines to use geo.nick addresses for contextual awareness, for example in pinpointing exact locations for rescue missions.

Geo.nick founder Yohan Kwon said, “the technology can be implemented into a wider range of applications. The system is already being used in address sharing technology, location sharing for photos, and NFT projects utilizing permanent addressing.”

He said they have built a framework and an API for developers to easily use their technology and precision addressing system.

“We are definitely looking to Taiwan as a place to further develop our technology. Taiwan has a lot of high-caliber developers who can build on our existing framework and API,” he said.

Taiwan e-commerce boom

He said one use-case example is e-commerce in Taiwan, where 70% of internet users have engaged in real-time online shopping. To be sure, a recent survey by Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC), a Taiwan-based think tank, showed that top platforms for live product selling are Facebook (36.9%), YouTube (34.8%), Shopee (22.8%), Line (15.3%), and Instagram (10.5%), respectively.

“Inefficient addressing [for delivering these goods] continues to incur significant costs for businesses that rely on geolocation, and geo.nick helps solve that,” he said.

geo.nick is currently available in 4 languages, Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. Kwon said geo.nick plans to host hackathon in Taiwan, as part of their platform development.

Partnering with Taipei-based Korean startups

To demonstrate geo.nick’s global precision addressing platform, it has leverage two- Korean startups that are both based in Taiwan – 8THNS, a brand publishing company, and 1TM.io, a collaboration network for creators, enablers, and enthusiasts.

 Photograph : Paolo

“From our perspective, Taiwan has more to offer other than engineers and developers because this is a place for very creative individuals. This is one of the reasons that we have built our office in Taiwan,” said Daren Kang, founder of 1TM.io.

“Our goal is to help brands market beyond Taiwan. There are so many great products here that deserve to be seen and used in Korea and even in other parts of the world,” said Keith Ha, General Manager of 8THNS.

Challenge for Taiwan designers

In using 1TM.io’s platform, 8THNS developed a contest to promote geo.nick’s unique addressing system, where designers in Taiwan could win up to USD6,200 in cash prize.

To join, designers need to collaborate to tell a story about a special location, something that is “hidden gem” in the city, and use geo.nick’s platform to point to that address.

“The key here in event is to collaborate, say for an illustration or a video of a specific location, to tell a story on why a specific place is special and use geo.nick’s global precision addressing so that tourists can find it when they visit Taiwan,” Kang said.

Submissions are accepted until January 21, 2022. A prize of $5000 will be awarded to the winner, additional prizes totaling $1200 will also be awarded. The total prize pool is $6200.

〔Original :Meet Global〕
https://meet-global.bnext.com.tw/articles/view/47568