A powerful AI without clouds... WebAI kicks off the "Sovereign AI" era with an enterprise value of 2.9 trillion KRW

2026-01-14 08:08:33

During its recent funding round, AI startup WebAI achieved a company valuation of approximately 2.9 trillion KRW (25 billion USD), attracting industry attention. It is reported that this Series A extension financing involved a “double-digit” level of significant investment, with participants including Time Ventures founded by Marc Benioff, Atreides Management, and existing investors such as Forerunner Ventures.

WebAI is developing a “sovereign AI” model that does not rely on the cloud and can run in users’ local environments, helping enterprises utilize artificial intelligence without transmitting sensitive data. This approach excels in data security and response speed, while also significantly reducing AI computing costs by utilizing local resources to replace expensive cloud GPUs, earning industry praise.

Last year, this startup gained prominence by releasing “Companion,” an AI assistant optimized for business environments. The application can learn internal enterprise data on the device to perform customized tasks, and no information is transmitted to external servers, making it an increasingly suitable solution for privacy-conscious companies.

WebAI has already commercialized AI solutions across multiple industries including retail, logistics, and aviation. Finnish medical technology startup Oura Health is one of its flagship clients. Oura is known for its smart ring “Oura Ring,” which monitors sleep and health data.

WebAI CEO David Stott stated regarding the funds raised: “We will focus on improving AI accessibility and accelerating distributed AI innovation,” and “dedicate ourselves to enabling AI to operate locally at the data source without relying on the cloud or WiFi.” He also revealed that the company is preparing to launch consumer-facing applications in the future.

This news comes shortly after WebAI completed an 860 billion KRW (60 million USD) Series A funding round four months ago. Industry sources indicate that the company is now working on a new Series B funding round, with a potential for larger-scale fundraising in the near future. This confirms that WebAI’s technological innovation and market growth potential continue to attract investor interest.

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