Chief Executive Lee Jae-sang of HYBE said in a New Year's address to employees on the 2nd that the company plans to shift new businesses and artist intellectual property (IP), secured through preemptive investment, into a revenue-generating phase starting this year.
Lee said, "For us, 2025 was a time to strengthen our capacity for sustained growth through strategic investment and building fundamentals," adding, "This year will be when we show the market that bold, preemptive investment was the right direction, and that the time of perseverance for structural improvement was worthwhile."
Lee listed this year's tasks as: ▲ verifying the business viability of new businesses and IP ▲ establishing the permanence of IP and expanding the fan base through "innovation we haven't tried" ▲ designing a new experience model based on scarcity ▲ securing leadership in an artificial intelligence (AI)-based prosumer market ▲ implementing true global governance.
Lee noted, "We need to prove the justification for investment in new businesses and artist IP where preemptive investment has been made."
Lee added, "We have confirmed meaningful traffic expansion so far, and now we must transition to a phase of valid revenue generation to be confident in sustainable business viability," explaining, "When investment shows results, new investment gains legitimacy and a virtuous cycle of growth is established."
Lee added, "The essence of the business HYBE conducts is to achieve preemptive innovation by fusing content and technology based on music and artists as core IP, and through this to offer fans immersive experiences in new ways."
Lee also mentioned designing a new model of experience based on scarcity. Lee said, "Scarcity is an important factor that can enhance the added value of fandom businesses and fan experiences," adding, "2026 will be an important year in which HYBE, as it has in the past, designs and tests an integrated online-offline experience model based on scarcity to innovate the future music fandom business model."
On global strategy, Lee said, "We will build integrated governance that organically shares key assets and know-how—such as resources, personnel, and content distribution—among global subsidiaries to increase cross-border project cases and realize true global synergy."
Lastly, Lee said, "HYBE's growth philosophy is clear: to create top-tier IP, lead the fandom business, and expand those results into new markets and genres," adding, "I hope every HYBE member becomes both 'a principal agent and a partner' in growth."