Flex selected for Korea's government "Unicorn Bridge" deep-tech program
What's the deal? Flex, a South Korean HR tech company turned enterprise AI platform, has been selected for the first cohort of "Unicorn Bridge," a government programme aiming to mint global unicorns.
The Ministry of SMEs and StartupsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → runs the scheme with the Korea Technology Finance CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (KOTEC), which picked Flex for its work in AI and security.
Flex was valued at 500 billion won by Hanriver PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → during its Series B round. It has also made "Forbes' 100 To Watch in Asia."
Why now? Unicorn Bridge is a new programme built on the ministry's goal of producing 50 global unicorns by 2030.
It selects high-growth companies across 12 deep-tech fields and provides intensive support over two years.
Flex has rebranded around the slogan "Relations Driven AX," combining organisations' relationship data with AI agents. Its flagship service understands members' roles and work context, then ranks tasks by importance and urgency.
What could go wrong? Government backing validates potential but does not guarantee it. The "decacorn" ambition cited by chief executive Jang Hae-namDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is a steep climb from a 500 billion won valuation.
Enterprise AI is also a crowded field, and the relationship-data approach must prove it can scale beyond Korea.
The signal: Flex's journey from HR tech into an enterprise AI platform mirrors a broader pivot among Korean startups racing to bolt AI agents onto existing software, and Seoul's Unicorn Bridge programme is explicitly engineering that shift across 12 deep-tech fields. For an early-stage company already valued at 500 billion won, the government stamp offers a credibility bridge to the global markets it will need to reach its decacorn ambitions.
Read more: The Seoul Economic Daily
Image credit: Rawpixel Ltd
