Startup Interview

  • [Startup Interview] CEO of Digital Biomarker Data Integrated Platform “Spidercore”, Kiwon Lee
  • 창업원
  • 2022-10-30 20:19:34
  • 270

Today we will meet Spidercore, a team that participated in the laboratory research startup support program, 2020 E*5 LabStartup! Spidercore seeks to innovate the medical field by combining digital biomarkers through artificial intelligence and establishing an integrated diagnosis platform.



Can you briefly introduce Spidercore?

Spidercore hopes to realize preventive healthcare by collecting digital biomarkers through various sensors and integrating them to create an integrated diagnosis platform. Our team recently won the AI Championship hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and is proving our AI technology.


Digital biomarkers are at the center of interest in the medical field. Through digital biomarkers, subtle changes in symptoms can be tracked and measured, allowing for preventive measures for diseases. Using artificial intelligence, biomarker technology is expected to grow rapidly.





How did Spidercore decide on digital biomarkers as its product?

When you’re at school doing research, it’s difficult to see what kind of demand is in the market. When our team participated in the AI intensive education program hosted by KAIST and Seongnam City as TAs, we came in touch with a doctor at Cha University Bundang medical center and realized there was a demand for AI in hospitals. The project started off as a joint-research, but we ended up starting our own business.


Although Spidercore realized the demand for AI while participating in an AI-related program, we believe that it was possible because the team was prepared through continuous research. There are also various attempts at incorporating AI in the medical field.




What competitive advantage does Spidercore have compared to other AI-based medical startups?

Everyone knows that big data is essential for artificial intelligence, but it is difficult to collect them especially in the medical field because medical data must be labelled by skilled medical staff. Our research team conducted research on an AI technology that learns from a small amount of data or data with a lot of noise, so we had the technology to begin with. Based on this, we can create a more efficient and fast AI model.


In an era of big data, data collection becomes very important. The medical field will be innovated much faster if Spidercore’s technology can label and integrate big data.





What motivated you to participate in E*5 LabStartup, and what did you learn from it?

We were originally planning to participate in the E*5 program, but we heard about the news that LabStartup was newly established this year. We thought LabStartup was more appropriate for us, because our team was made of researchers. At LabStartup, we appreciated feedback from various mentors and listening to objective business opinions from external experts. Our team is excellent in engineering, but we are new in business.


Spidercore team is a good fit in E*5 LabStartup! Unlike E*5 for undergraduates, LabStartup is a laboratory research support program targeting graduate students. At LabStartup, teams can receive overall mentoring about business commercialization. We are looking for more startup teams like Spidercore!




Is there anything we can do to improve and supplement E*5 LabStartup?

I think more promotion and marketing is necessary. Many people around me don’t even know that LabStartup exists.


Since it was our first time holding this program, we went through trial and error and experienced difficulties due to COVID-19. Next year, we will promote a more active marketing strategy. We believe LabStartup will become more known thanks to successful teams like Spidercore. Please spread information about E*5 LabStartup ????





What were some difficulties while starting the business, and how did you overcome them?

The most difficult part was recruiting members. Because KAIST is in Daejeon, it was even more difficult. We hope KAIST students reading this interview take an interest in our team.


Even for entrepreneurs who have experience in starting a business, the hardest part is recruiting people. It’s difficult to find like-minded team members that will also stay until the end. As CEO of Spidercore said, there are also regional limitations. However, there are a lot of highly skilled students who have done research as well as various startup support programs. It will be helpful to look for people who are willing to start a business or who are like-minded to participate in the startup audition program.




What is Spidercore’s short-term goal?

After starting a business with AI technology, I realized that it’s harder than I thought to commercialize AI in the medical field. There aren’t a lot of companies in the medical field that generate revenue from AI. So, our short-term goal is to establish a business model that can create profit in the next five years.





Can you give a word to KAIST students?

I hope KAIST students become more interested in startups and actively try starting a business. A lot of friends around me have once thought about starting a business, but never tried because they didn’t know how to start. Even if the item is undecided, students can visit ISK professors or accelerators and receive help.


As Lee said, there are a lot of startup related programs at KAIST. Startup KAIST also offers counseling with ISK professors and experts. Check out the Contact Us page if you’re interested in starting a business.




What is the ultimate goal of Spidercore?

Our team wants to drive a paradigm shift in healthcare from reactive to preventive healthcare using AI.


In the medical field, a new class of digital biomarkers are emerging. Spidercore is realizing preventive healthcare by combining digital biomarkers through artificial intelligence and establishing an integrated diagnosis platform. We hope that Spidercore becomes a company that leads the paradigm in preventive healthcare with its technology.


This was Kiwon Lee, CEO of Spidercore!