Flitto, Duty-Free Exports Fuel Growth

At a time when global trade barriers are rising, Flitto, an AI language data company, is breaking free from the shackles of tariffs with its unique digital business model and forecasting rapid growth. While traditional industries are shaken by the waves of protectionism, Flitto is establishing itself as a new market winner with 'intangible asset exports' that are unaffected by tariffs. Launched in 2012, Flitto has emerged as a global powerhouse, encompassing over 14 million users across 173 countries through the construction of AI-learning language data and service enhancement. Last year, it proved its potential by achieving its highest performance since its founding, with 20.3 billion won in sales and 800 million won in net profit. In particular, the surge in demand for language data in North America and the expansion of real-time AI interpretation and translation solutions served as growth drivers. Flitto's biggest differentiator lies in its digital business model that enables 'tariff-free exports'. Digital data and software-based services provided via cloud and online platforms, unlike physical goods, are completely exempt from traditional tariff imposition. Despite approximately 60% of its total revenue coming from overseas last year, the fact that it is completely free from global tariff risks like the U.S.-China trade dispute positions Flitto as a new winner in the market. Since the launch of the Trump administration, the U.S. has been strengthening protectionism by applying differentiated tariffs on imports by country. In an environment where high reciprocal tariffs are imposed by country, such as 46% for Vietnam, 32% for Taiwan, and 26% for Korea, tangible industries like manufacturing are experiencing the dual hardship of increased import/export costs and weakened competitiveness. In contrast, software companies like Flitto are instead gaining a strong competitive advantage through an 'intangible asset-based tariff-free export' structure. Indeed, Flitto's data sales export performance has recorded an astonishing high growth rate of 70% on average over the past three years, and even more explosive growth is expected this year. Flitto plans to accelerate its overseas market expansion this year through a diverse portfolio including AI translation API, real-time simultaneous interpretation, industry-specific data, and low-resource language data. Particularly, as the value of low-resource language data rapidly increases in the era of artificial intelligence, it is expected to gain an advantageous position for collaborations with global big tech companies and the pioneering of new markets. Lee Jung-soo, CEO of Flitto, emphasized, "Flitto is leading the global AI language data market by combining a digital service model that transcends trade barriers like tariffs, unique high-quality language data, and advanced AI translation technology." He stated his ambition, "As data is the core driving force that determines AI performance, we will continue to create more meaningful value on the global stage through relentless innovation and technology internalization." Flitto is ready to continue its growth with an innovative digital model amidst changes in the global trade environment.