Quadruped robot specialist Lion Robotics has brought in Vice President Heo Cheol and appointed Heo as chief business officer (CBO), accelerating business expansion and global entry.
Lion Robotics said on the 2nd that it appointed Vice President Heo Cheol as the new CBO to drive full-fledged business expansion and entry into global markets. Based on business strategy and overseas expansion expertise built across domestic and overseas consulting, retail, and entertainment, the new CBO Heo is expected to lead Lion Robotics' expansion into the defense and industrial robot markets.
CBO Heo worked at global consulting firm McKinsey & Company overseeing the Asia consumer goods and retail sector, carrying out major corporations' business strategy development and overseas expansion projects. He then moved to Musinsa, where Heo led global operations and built the foundation for overseas business, and later led global business development at Kakao Entertainment. He is regarded as having built experience in expanding global business across diverse areas including consumer goods, platforms, and content.
Lion Robotics plans to strengthen leadership on both the technology and business fronts through this hire. Following the recruitment of Development Head Kim Yeon-ho (CTO), who led mass production of Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles, the company appointed a business expert as CBO, establishing a system that can focus capabilities on commercialization of technology and market expansion.
Lion Robotics is a KAIST spin-off corporations and has conducted a range of proofs of concept (PoC) in defense, public safety, and industry based on Reinforcement Learning–based quadruped robot control technology. It has been recognized for its technical prowess and business potential by winning the top prize at the Army AI Challenge and being selected among the 100 defense industry innovation companies.
Last year, the company secured a total of 23 billion won in Series A funding from SBVA (formerly SoftBank Ventures), Company K Partners, FuturePlay, Korea Development Bank (KDB) Capital, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and IBK Venture Capital, laying a growth foundation for business expansion.