“As this is the first school start-up company, there was a lot of expectation and support to set an example, but I’m really happy to be able to repay you like this.”


Jun-ho Oh (67), an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at KAIST, donated 5 billion won to the school.



This is the highest amount ever made by a KAIST startup company.



KAIST held a plaque of appreciation at its headquarters in Daejeon yesterday (25th) in the presence of Professor Jun-ho Oh, Rainbow Robotics CEO Jeong-ho Lee, and President Lee Kwang-hyung.



In 2011, when Professor Oh founded 'Rainbow Robotics', a company in the field of humanoid robots, he donated 20% of the company's stock to the school.



This was to express my gratitude to the school for actively supporting research and entrepreneurship together.




Since then, the self-developed DRC-Hubo has achieved splendid achievements, such as winning the 'Darpa Robotics Challenge' of the US Department of Defense, a contest to select the world's best disaster response robot in 2015, and as a torch bearer at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.



Thanks to this, Professor Oh succeeded in listing Rainbow Robotics on the KOSDAQ market in February based on continuous innovation and technology development.



When KAIST was donated 10 years ago, 400 shares, which cost 2 million won, soared to 5.39 billion won after being listed on the KOSDAQ. As a result, Professor Oh donated 5 billion won to the school.



This is the largest development fund for start-up companies in KAIST, and KAIST plans to use it as the 'Junho Oh Fund'.



Professor Oh said, "It is very rewarding to set a precedent for a virtuous cycle in which the results of research funds applied to universities lead to start-ups and return to universities. I hope that it will be used effectively.”



President Lee Kwang-hyung of KAIST said, "As Professor Oh provided a great example and great financial resources as a senior and teacher, we are actively working to help junior professors and students actively utilize the university's startup ecosystem to continue their technology startups and achieve bigger dreams. I will support you,” he said.



Professor Oh, who retired from his professorship at KAIST last year, is currently active as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of 'Rainbow Robotics' and is working to advance robot functions such as the humanoid bipedal robot platform, quadruped robot, collaborative robot, and core instrument for astronomical observation. He is in charge of research and development of various technologies for



This is a 'news pick'.



(Photo=provided by KAIST)