NAVER D2SF Invests in AIM Intelligence, an AI Security Startup

-  Rising AI adoption drives growing security risks, making AI security essential infrastructure
-  End-to-end AI security solutions spanning attack, validation, and control, backed by frontier research and publications
-  NAVER D2SF discovered the team through its campus startup competition and invested following incubation, with collaboration opportunities around safe AI expanding

SEONGNAM, South Korea, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVER D2SF, NAVER's in-house corporate venture arm, has made a new investment in AIM Intelligence (CEO, Sangyoon Yu), an AI security startup. AIM Intelligence develops AI security technologies that help enterprises adopt AI safely as AI deployment rapidly expands. NAVER D2SF made the investment based on the view that AI security is becoming critical infrastructure in the era of generative AI, agentic AI, multimodal AI, and physical AI.

As AI adoption accelerates across enterprises, new security risks — including AI malfunction, data leakage, privilege abuse, and prompt injection attacks — are increasing just as rapidly. As a result, AI safety validation and control are becoming essential requirements regardless of advances in model performance. Demand is growing among enterprises seeking to establish security frameworks throughout the entire AI lifecycle, from deployment to live operations. AIM Intelligence is meeting this shift head-on, rapidly translating customer requirements into product updates while building a track record of real-world deployments in AI security and safety.

AIM Intelligence provides AI security solutions spanning the full cycle of attack, validation, and control. Its automated red teaming solution, Stinger, proactively identifies vulnerabilities by designing and validating millions of attack scenarios, while its real-time guardrail system, Starfort, controls risky AI behavior during live operations. Drawing on experience contributing to AI model safety projects at global frontier research organizations including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, the company is building a field-tested security framework tailored to real-world environments.

AIM Intelligence also brings strong research credentials to the AI security and safety space. The team has published approximately 20 papers on AI guardrails and has validated its technical capabilities through presentations at top-tier academic conferences. Beyond current LLM and agent security, the company is also developing Physical AI safety technology to ensure safety in physical environments such as robotics.

AIM Intelligence is currently building commercial references with enterprise customers across industries including enterprise, financial services, and the public sector. By working closely with customers in live operational environments, the company is refining its AI security and safety solutions while expanding capabilities to address industry-specific compliance requirements.

AIM Intelligence is a team with a well-rounded combination of frontier AI safety research, product development, and business execution. NAVER D2SF discovered the company through its 2024 Campus Startup Competition and participated in this investment following an incubation period. Co-founder and CEO Sangyoon Yu and the founding team bring experience in AI safety research and entrepreneurship, with a particular strength in rapidly sensing shifts in the AI landscape and translating those insights into products.

"AIM Intelligence has rapidly commercialized a practical AI security solution covering the full AI lifecycle, and we are also exploring collaboration opportunities with NAVER's security organization around safe AI initiatives," said Sanghwan Yang, Head of NAVER D2SF. "It is particularly impressive that a student-founded team has achieved this level of execution in the security sector, where experience and references are especially important. We will continue expanding opportunities to connect with AI-native founders in their teens and twenties who bring strong instincts and energy."

"As AI moves beyond productivity tools and into payment platforms, vehicles, and robotics, AI security is becoming part of critical industrial infrastructure," said Sangyoon Yu, CEO of AIM Intelligence. "This strategic investment reflects how AI security is increasingly being recognized as a real business priority across industries. AIM Intelligence aims to grow into an AI security infrastructure company that enables the safe development, validation, and operation of generative AI, agentic AI, and physical AI."

Meanwhile, NAVER D2SF's 2026 Campus Startup Competition recently concluded with a record-high 320+ applicants, including solo founders and high school startup teams, highlighting changing trends in tech entrepreneurship. Development speed and product maturity were notably higher this year, with more teams demonstrating real business traction beyond the idea stage. As AI continues to lower barriers to product development, NAVER D2SF plans to further expand its engagement with AI-native founders who can quickly identify and proactively solve emerging market problems.

About NAVER D2SF

NAVER D2SF is NAVER's in-house corporate venture arm, supporting sustainable growth by collaborating with startups. Founded in 1999, NAVER has maintained its position as Korea's leading search engine for over 20 years and operates across commerce, content, fintech, and cloud services. Under the technological vision of D2 (For Developers, By Developers), NAVER is actively developing new technologies and global partnerships to grow as a leading tech company.

To learn more, visit https://d2sf.naver.com 

SOURCE NAVER