Korean Startup Waddle Wins OpenAI Hackathon, Gains Global Attention

South Korean startup Wadl showcased its global prowess at the 'OpenAI GPT-5 Hackathon' held in San Francisco, the heart of artificial intelligence, achieving the remarkable feat of proudly securing first place among 93 participating teams. As the sole Korean team participating in this prestigious competition co-hosted by OpenAI and Cerebral Valley, Wadl secured exceptional privileges: OpenAI credits worth an astonishing 50,000 dollars and an invitation to 'DevDay' next month. The elite four-member team, led by CEO Park Ji-hyuk and comprising engineers Song Jin-tae, Han Sang-do, and Hwang Tae-baek, showcased astonishing innovation in just 24 hours. They developed a system based on GPT-5 that generates 'digital clones' of online shopping mall visitors, which possesses the extraordinary ability to precisely analyze visitors' purchasing patterns and simulate the effectiveness of sales strategies. Notably, Wadl leveraged real conversation data between its AI assistant service 'Zentoo' and customers, successfully predicting the outcomes of various marketing activities, such as new product launches, special promotions, and coupon provisions, through these digital clones. The judges consisted of prominent venture capital figures from Sequoia Capital, Conviction, and OpenAI internal experts, suggesting that they highly valued Wadl's technical prowess and potential. CEO Park Ji-hyuk stated, "This is a result that proves the team's execution and technical capabilities in realizing an idea into a real product within a limited time," and expressed his ambition to supply 'Zentoo' to global e-commerce platforms through close collaboration with OpenAI in the future. Currently, Wadl is successfully operating a multi-agent-based B2B SaaS solution that assists online shopping mall customers in their purchasing decisions, and has already attracted investments from Kakao Ventures and Bon Angels Venture Partners, among others, thereby gaining recognition for its growth potential.