South Korean AI Unicorn Upstage Shuts Down Hong Kong Office After 5 Years

Gate News message, April 15 — South Korean generative AI company Upstage, the country's first AI unicorn, has shut down its Hong Kong subsidiary (UPSTAGE HK LIMITED) after five years of operation, according to a filing with Korea's Financial Supervisory Service. The company established the Hong Kong office in December 2020 as a key hub for global expansion, aiming to leverage access to Chinese talent and expand into Southeast Asian markets including Singapore and Thailand.

The Hong Kong office was initially positioned as a strategic base for regional growth, with Upstage's Chief Science Officer Park Eun-jeong, a former Naver Papago model team lead, appointed as its first head. However, the office produced no significant results and was dissolved in 2025. The company explained that the office primarily served administrative and recruitment functions, with its utility diminishing after CEO Kim Sung-hoon took leave from his professorship at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Following the closure, Upstage invested approximately 3.5 billion won ($2.6 million) into its U.S. entity, Upstage AI, consolidating global operations. The company now focuses on the U.S. and Japan as its primary international markets. The U.S. entity is expanding its Solar LLM and document AI solutions through a partnership with AWS, while the Japanese subsidiary is developing localized models for industry-specific AI applications.