1Z Labs
Category: AI in Marketing
South Korean AI solutions company developing AI-powered SaaS products for enterprise productivity, acquired by e-commerce company Kurly in 2026. 1Z Labs was founded in 2021. The company is led by Keunbong Kwak (곽근봉). Based in Seoul, South Korea. Team size: 1-10. Latest round: Acquired. Key investors include Fast Ventures, Kakao Ventures, Thanks Ventures, TIPS Program.
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- Seoul, South Korea
- Team size
- 1-10
Value proposition
AI-powered SaaS solutions that automate enterprise workflows including creative asset generation (Creative AI), customer service (AICS), and press release distribution (AIPR), enabling businesses to achieve AI transformation with small, high-productivity teams.
Products and solutions
MyTaro (마이타로) - AI fortune/tarot/psychological counseling app, AIPR (에이아이피알) - AI-based enterprise press release creation and distribution, Creative AI - automated ad banner and product image generation, AICS (AI Customer Service) - AI-powered customer inquiry handling, DSP - in-house advertising system
Unique value
Small-team, high-leverage AI transformation — building enterprise AI solutions with minimal headcount (7 employees) by applying AI to their own operations first, then productizing those solutions for other businesses.
Target customer
Enterprise businesses in e-commerce, marketing, and customer service seeking AI transformation (AX) solutions
Industries served
E-commerce, Digital Marketing, Customer Service, Advertising Technology
Technology advantage
AI-native small-team approach (7 employees) with high productivity; Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service partnership; 3 registered patents; TIPS government R&D program participant; proven AI solutions deployed at scale (handling 40% of Kurly's daily customer inquiries)
How they differentiate
Operates with extreme team efficiency (7 people) by applying AI to their own workflows first before productizing; founder with deep Ad-tech experience (NBT/Cashslide CTO); full-stack AI capabilities spanning creative generation, customer service, and advertising systems
Main competitors
TouchCast, Launchmetrics, Bluefish Labs
Key partnerships
Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service (official partner), Kurly (acquirer, joint development of Creative AI, AICS, DSP), Kakao Ventures (investor and ecosystem partner)
Notable customers
Kurly (Market Kurly) - deployed AICS handling 40% of daily customer inquiries, Creative AI for automated ad banner/product image generation
Major milestones
2021-12: Founded as 엔씨티랩스 (NCT Labs), 2022-01: Renamed to 원지랩스 (1Z Labs), 2023: Selected for TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups) by Korean Government, 2024: Became Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service official partner, 2025: Developed Creative AI and AICS solutions for Kurly, 2026-06: Acquired by Kurly via stock swap (~₩30B), CEO appointed as Head of Kurly AX Center
Growth metrics
7 employees (as of April 2026); AICS handles ~40% of Kurly's daily customer inquiries
Market positioning
Niche AI solutions provider in Korea, positioned as an AI Transformation (AX) partner for enterprises, recently acquired by Kurly to become the core of their AI-native strategy
Geographic focus
South Korea (primary); expanding through Kurly's e-commerce ecosystem
Patents and IP
3 registered patents (as of 2025-07)
About Keunbong Kwak (곽근봉)
Ex-NBT (Cashslide) CTO/CPO/CMO and co-founder; KAIST Distributed Computing Lab (Master's); Product-led Growth specialist with 200+ IT projects
Official website: https://1zlabs.com