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ShardLab

Category: AI Agents

A Web3 R&D and innovation lab building an 'On-Chain Agent Stack' for the AI economy and user-friendly blockchain applications like NFT ticketing. ShardLab was founded in 2023. The company is led by Hojin Kim. Based in Seoul, South Korea. Team size: 10-50. Total funding raised: Undisclosed (Corporate Venture/Joint Venture structure). Latest round: Strategic Joint Venture (Sept 2023). Key investors include ["Hashed","SCBX"].

Founded
2023
Headquarters
Seoul, South Korea
Team size
10-50
Total funding
Undisclosed (Corporate Venture/Joint Venture structure)

Value proposition

Bridges the gap between Web2 mass adoption and Web3 technology by making blockchain invisible (via Account Abstraction) and enabling AI agents to autonomously transact and operate on-chain.

Products and solutions

["On-Chain Agent Stack (AI Agent infrastructure)","x402 Integration (AI-based stablecoin payment implementation)","NFT Ticketing & Voucher Platform (with Account Abstraction)","Digital Identity (DID) Solutions"]

Unique value

Pioneering the 'Agentic Economy' by enabling AI agents to hold wallets and make autonomous payments (using the x402 protocol), while simultaneously solving mass adoption hurdles for humans through invisible NFT ticketing.

Target customer

Web2 Enterprises (e.g., Fintechs, Event Organizers), Web3 Developers, and AI Agent Builders

Industries served

["Artificial Intelligence (Agentic Economy)","Fintech & Payments","Events & Ticketing","Web3 Infrastructure"]

Technology advantage

Strategic backing by Hashed (Crypto VC) and SCBX (Banking Giant) provides unique access to both deep Web3 tech (ZK, AA) and massive Web2 user bases (e.g., Naver Pay's millions of users).

How they differentiate

Institutional-grade 'Invisible Web3' infrastructure (Account Abstraction) combined with specific x402 agent payment standards, backed by major Asian conglomerates (Naver, SCBX). Unlike purely crypto-native competitors, ShardLab acts as a bridge for Web2 mass adoption.

Main competitors

["Skyfire","Autonolas (Olas)","Fetch.ai (ASI Alliance)"]

Key partnerships

["Hashed (Parent/Investor)","SCBX (Joint Venture Partner)","Naver Pay (Strategic Partner for NFT Ticketing)","Bitkub (Strategic Partner for Thailand/SE Asia expansion)","Coinbase/Base (Collaborator on x402 AI payment standards)"]

Notable customers

["Naver Pay","Busan City Government","SCBX"]

Major milestones

["Sept 2023: Established as Hashed x SCBX Joint Venture","Nov 2024: Launched Naver Pay NFT Ticketing Service (DAN24)","May 2025: Secured Busan City Web3 Wallet project","Sept 2025: Strategic partnership with Bitkub","Dec 2025: Unveiled On-chain Agent Stack utilizing x402"]

Growth metrics

20,000+ users onboarded via Naver Pay for NFT ticketing (Nov 2024); Expansion into Thailand with Bitkub partnership (Sept 2025).

Market positioning

The Institutional Gateway to the Agentic Economy

Geographic focus

South Korea, Thailand, Southeast Asia

Patents and IP

Proprietary NFT utility technology including airdrop APIs and smart contracts (as deployed with Naver Pay)

About Hojin Kim

Hojin Kim (Harry) is the CEO of ShardLab and previously served as the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at UNOPND, Hashed's startup studio. He has a background in the gaming industry, having worked as a Coordinator at Blizzard Entertainment.

Official website: