In March, Tenspance (CEO JinSeok Koh), a blockchain and AI based fintech company, signed a contract with Awesomepia (CEO Moonho Min), a XR based innovation company currently on the spotlight for signing a “Healing Tour Metaverse” business contract with Lotte Group’s Daehong.

JinSeok Koh, CEO of Tenspacce, earned his Batchelor’s degree in Computer Science at Seoul National University. He was the CTO of “I Love School”, world’s first SNS, and was selected as five global leaders of the top cryptocurrency exchange by Huobi. Tenspace also received attention in 2020 when it was selected as part of the Cool Vendor for Gartner AI Banking and Investment Services.

After setting up a XR telescope, BORA, in Paju Dora Observatory, Awesomepia has signed a contracted with Lotte Group’s full-service advertising agency, Daehong, to set up a thousand more XR telescope throughout South Korea. They are now planning to launch virtual tour Metaverse (aka Healing Tour). As a global trend, “3D virtual world” (Metaverse) market size is expected to reach $280 billion (315 trillion won) by 2025.

With the Corona-depression spreading as a social issue, the healing tour Metaverse seeks to provide healing and comfort through virtual tourism and meditation. With a XR background, a combination of both VR and AR, Healing Tour Metaverse communicates through AI human and is a collection of ICT technologies promoting economic activities using blockchain and NFT.

As Tenspace joins the Awesomepia Healing Tour Metaverse, professional investment institutions and VC (Venture Capital) are showing interest.

Meanwhile, Astercoin (ATC), owned by Tenspace, has been listed on Bithumb Global last year. MoonHo Min, CEO of Awesomepia, has been building trust with Tenspace by investing in them and based on their firm relationship, they are expected to grow the Healing Tour Metaverse into a global platform.

Tenspace has been selected as part of the 2020 Cool Vendors in AI for Banking and Investment Services, which is evaluated and selected by a globally renowned IT company, Gartner. Tenspace possesses alternative credit scoring technology, ASTER, based on their ‘Trust Communication Management’ (TCM) analysis technique, which had been developed from behavioural psychology. ASTER evaluates by analysing the history of the activities that the person subject to the evaluation made public view in their social media. In 2019, the company signed an ASTER RM (Anti Money Laundering Solution) contract with the Strait Financial Group, a financial institution in Chicago. In 2020, they signed joint venture contract with MWA (Money World Association, subsidiary of Singapore Tembusu Partners) and are in progress to supply ASTER Bank (alternative credit scoring solution) to Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.

The Band Foundation (http://sefund.or.kr/index.php) was established in 2016 by the Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Community Chest of Korea to support the social economic enterprise, networks and councils.

Social Enterprise are businesses with mainly social goals. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines a social enterprise as “an entity that is carried out for public understanding and whose final objective is to achieve certain socioeconomic goals rather than maximise profits.” The social enterprise promotion act of South Korea defines “an entity certified as a social enterprise performs business activities such as the production and sale of goods and services while pursuing social purposes such as providing social services, jobs or contributing to the community.” It is also referred to as social business. Nobel Peace Prize laureate and economist Muhammad Yunus defines it as “a project founded and designed to solve social problems.” Social enterprise if one of the representative forms of social economy with cooperative.

Tenspace and Band Foundation announced that they use non-financial screening technique using SNS analysis alternative credit scoring for social enterprise loanee. After the first trial screening in December 2020, the company has been using it for screening since January 2021. Both agencies expect that ASTER will be able to complement traditional credit scoring system.

Global IT research firm Gartner Inc. has selected TENSPACE’s ASTER solution as part of the “2020 Cool Vendors in Gartner Banking and Investment Services”. At the end of April, it officially announced four companies that were selected as ‘Cool Vendors’ in the AI sector, introducing innovative technological updates. The selected companies were Axyon AI (Italy), Eigen Technologies (U.K), Social (U.S) and Tenspace, where it was the only domestic company to be selected.

For the Gartner Cool Vendors selection, Tenspace has conducted two rounds of vendor briefing with British and Taiwanese analysts; vendor briefing is designed for Gartner to inform its analysts of various international vendors’ solutions and technologies.

Gartner analyses vendors operating in various industries that require IT and IoT(Internet of Things) technologies, such as security, healthcare, industrial sites and mobile, and delivers the information to end users through magic quadrant and cool vendor. Gartner’s report is quoted daily by media outlets around the world and is known to be thoroughly reviewed when end-users around the globe select their IT vendor.

Gartner introduced Tenspace as “analyses social media data using AI tools to improve decision making on three scenarios: alternative credit scoring, anti-money laundering tracking and loan service”. In particular, the company praised Tenspace’s approach to using social media for having a more advanced technology than other vendors (suppliers).

Tenspace holds two patents related to “user evaluation methods and systems based on social network analysis”, and three more patents are also underway in the U.S, China and Japan. In 2019, Tenspace signed export contracts with Strait Financial Group, a financial institution in Chicago USA, and Nanhua Futures, and is currently seeking to enter markets in Singapore, Vietnam, China and Japan.

텐스페이스가 쿨벤더 선정을 위해 영국 및 대만 애널리스트와 벤더브리핑을 2번 하였는데, 벤더브리핑이란, 가트너사가 세계 각국의 유명한 Vendor들을 선정, 해당 기업의 솔루션과 기술력을 가트너의 연구원(Analyst)들에게 자세히 알리는 브리핑이다.

가트너사는 보안, 헬스케어, 산업현장, 모바일 등과 같이 IT, IoT(사물인터넷) 기술을 필요로 하는 다양한 산업분야에서 활동하고 있는 벤더사들을 분석하고 그 정보를 최종 구매기업(End User)들에게 보고서(매직 쿼드런트(Magic Quadrant) 및 쿨 벤더(Cool Vendor)) 를 통해 전달한다. 가트너사의 보고서는 세계 각국의 언론매체들에 의해 매일 인용되고 있는 공신력 있는 보고서로, 전 세계 수많은 End-user 기업들이 IT Vendor 선정 시 Gartner사의 보고서를 적극 반영하는 것으로 알려져 있다.

가트너는 텐스페이스를 “AI 가능 도구를 사용하여 소셜 미디어 데이터를 분석하여 대안신용평가 및 AML(자금 세탁 방지 추적), 대출의 세 가지 시나리오에 대한 의사결정을 개선한다.”라고 소개하였다. 특히 소셜미디어를 활용한 텐스페이스의 접근방식에 대해 다른 벤더(공급업체)보다 한단계 진보된 기술을 보유하였다고 극찬하였다.

텐스페이스는 ‘소셜네트워크 분석에 따른 사용자 평가방식과 시스템’에 관련한 특허 등 2개의 특허를 보유하고 있으며, 3개의 특허 및 미국, 중국, 일본 특허도 진행중이다. 또한 지난 2019년 미국 시카고의 금융기관인 Strait Financial Group 및 Nanhua Futures와 수출계약을 하였고, 현재 싱가폴, 베트남, 중국, 일본 등의 진출을 추진하고 있다.

최근 미국의 금융업계는 AML기준이 강화되고 있는 분위기이다. 2008년 금융위기 시기 많은 증권사가 폐업을 했다. 이후 최근 3년간 유동성의 증가로 호황을 구가하고 있다. 자본의 유입의 증가로 인하여 범죄에 연관된 돈이나 적성국가에서 흘러들어 온 돈에 대한 감시가 강화되었다.

아스터 이전에도 AML솔루션은 있었다. 기존의 솔루션은 과거의 데이터를 통한 범죄기록 분석이 전부였다. 그러나 아스터는 소셜미디어 데이터를 활용하여 잠재적 미래의 위험을 예측할 수 있는 솔루션이다.

‘미래위험 예측’은 소셜미디어 활동의 ‘부정적인 변화’의 모니터링으로 가능하다. 여기에는 접속횟수의 비정상적인 변화, 부정적인 단어사용의 증가 그리고 위험한 친구들과의 교류를 포함한다. 더 나아가 적대국가와의 교류까지도 분석함을 의미한다.

SFG 관계자는 “기존에 없었던 기능을 가진 아스터RM의 사용으로 당사의 위험방지능력은 더욱 향상될 것이라고 본다. 결과적으로 회사의 이익으로 연결될 것으로 기대한다”고 설명했다.

고진석 텐스페이스 대표는 시카고의 방문 결과를 보고하며 ”SFG 외에 몇 몇 증권사가 큰 관심을 표명해 10월 경 그 중 한 업체와 정식계약이 이뤄질 것“이라고 귀뜸했다.