“If past artificial intelligence (AI) models only assisted with tasks, AI agents are now moving into a stage where they can handle work from start to finish, such as completing presentation materials or implementing an entire set of product features.”

Mark Manara, Head of Startups at OpenAI, made this remark on 18 June at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, during his keynote speech titled “From AI Models to Agents” at “NextRise 2026,” a startup and investment fair co-hosted by Korea Development Bank and the Korea International Trade Association. He explained that as generative AI evolves beyond merely answering questions into “agents” that autonomously use tools to execute tasks, there is a clear trend in industry of AI penetrating deeply across all areas of work.

A graduate of Harvard University’s Department of Computer Science and a former member of Amazon Web Services (AWS) startup team, he has led OpenAI’s global startup team of about 80 people since October 2023. In an interview with this newspaper after his speech, Manara cited Korea as the market where the AI transition is taking place the fastest.

He pointed to Korean gamers, who immediately immerse themselves for long periods from the first day when a new game is released, as an example, saying that Korean developers and founders demonstrate a similar sense of speed. Manara said, “In a world where cutting-edge AI models are released not once every few years as in the past, but every 4–8 weeks, the ability to immediately embrace new technology and adapt quickly determines the success or failure of startups building AI-based products.” He added, “Korean startups execute so quickly that once an AI model is released, they are ready to roll out updated products tailored to it from day one.”

He also highlighted the entrepreneurial spirit of Korean startups. Manara said, “When working with Korean startups, it is clear that they are highly adept at rapidly identifying business opportunities and promptly executing on them,” adding, “In particular, there are standout cases that leverage the strengths the Korean economy has built in manufacturing and advanced technology. I expect to see more innovation in these fields going forward.”

However, in reality, there are still many companies that hesitate to adopt AI due to security concerns, particularly fears that internal confidential information could be leaked when data are entrusted to external cloud services. On this point, Manara said, “Data transmitted via the application programming interface (API), which is the channel for using AI, are not used to train OpenAI models,” explaining, “We are already working with security-sensitive industries such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and life sciences, where protection of intellectual property (IP) and customer data is critical.”

OpenAI has set a long-term goal of distributing AI as an “intelligent utility” that anyone can access, like electricity or water. Manara said, “There will be far more AI applications built by startups than those created directly by OpenAI,” adding, “OpenAI can serve as a launching pad for startups to grow.”

To this end, OpenAI has been running a startup program in Korea for about nine months, bundling API credits, expert technical consulting, and marketing support. Having founded a company himself in 2013, Manara also urged younger founders to actively leverage AI.

“If tools like Codex, a coding model, or ChatGPT had been available when I started my company, I would have been able to grow it much faster and better with far less capital. Today, these seemingly magical tools are available to use to the fullest. There has never been a more exciting time to be building something.”

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