GS Group chief stresses new technologies to tackle economic challenges

Chairman Huh Tae-soo attends “2024 New Business Sharing Meeting” [Courtesy of GS]

GS Group announced Thursday that it will systematically pursue new business opportunities by strategically combining artificial intelligence, bio technology, and other emerging technologies with its existing capabilities.

The plan was shared in a meeting presided over by its Chairman Huh Tae-soo and attended by the heads of group affiliates. The meeting, referred to as a New Business Sharing Meeting, marked the third such event since 2022. It was held about five months after the last session in August 2023.

During the session, GS, along with its investment arms such as GS Futures and GS Ventures, provided insights into the overall strategy and investment status of the group’s new business ventures.

Subsidiaries like GS Caltex, GS Energy, and GS EPS presented updates on the commercialization progress in major areas such as industrial bio-tech, circular economy initiatives, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The presentations highlighted the significant focus GS has placed on acquiring cutting-edge technologies through investments over the past three years.

In the areas of digital, AI, bio-technology, and climate change, GS actively engaged in competitive ventures while simultaneously seeking integration with its existing business operations.

Chairman Huh’s recent participation in Consumer Electronics Show 2024 in Las Vegas and a visit to the investment firm GS Futures in San Francisco, the United States, align with this strategic direction.

Each subsidiary showcased plans to combine GS’s existing business capabilities with the emerging technologies pursued by the group.

Notably, the field of industrial biotech emerged as a focal point, where bio-technological advancements were synergized with the business capabilities of GS Caltex. Industrial bio-tech involves developing alternative materials for petrochemical products using bio-technology.

GS, leveraging the support of investment firms such as GS Futures and GS Ventures, identified and supported promising biotech ventures globally, including companies like Zymochem, Geltor, Debut, Ferment, and Capra Bioscience.

GS aims to leverage the technical expertise in new material development from these bio-tech ventures, aligning it with the mass production capabilities that the company has accumulated over the years.