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Various general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) services such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude have been launched. These general-purpose AI services have disrupted daily life, proving useful in answering questions and generating ideas. However, they have also led to issues such as plausible falsehoods (hallucinations) and missing context. While these issues may not pose problems in everyday life, the story is different in professional industries such as investment and finance, where a minor error can lead to significant losses.

As a result, the industry has turned its attention to specialized AI (Vertical-AI) with a high understanding of specific fields and 'Agentic-AI,' which autonomously performs complex tasks. Specialized AI is noted for its advantages in complementing the limitations of general large language models, offering high accuracy, low cost, and enhanced regulatory compliance capabilities.

Market analysis firm Technavio has identified language models optimized for specific industries and multi-agent systems as AI market trends post-2025. This indicates an increasing demand for AI solutions with deep industry knowledge, suggesting a shift in the market's value expectations from novelty to practical utility.



AI technology startup Powertask is also actively building Agentic AI services in line with the changing industrial trends. It is preparing to transition from a no-code-based workflow automation platform to a research agent platform for experts. What are Powertask's AI service strategies and goals? Insights were gathered from an interview with Moon Chang-hoon, CEO of Powertask.

“Finds to the end” Implementing AI like Sherlock Holmes

CEO Moon Chang-hoon discovered the potential of AI tools supporting professional research and investment analysis tasks and founded Powertask. The belief that AI can augment experts' capabilities by assisting with extensive information retrieval and sophisticated structuring was the starting point of the venture. His professional industry experience, spanning engineering, management consulting, and investment firms, laid the foundation for the startup. Subsequently, he developed Outcode, an Agentic AI service for experts.

Outcode focuses not on merely speeding up simple tasks but on securing analytical capabilities for experts. It emphasizes value creation over cost reduction. CEO Moon believes that if AI can alleviate the cognitive burden and anxiety of incompleteness in the process of analyzing large volumes of documents, experts can immerse themselves in insight and judgment tasks.

Powertask applied the Traverse Chain of Reasoning technology, which tracks logical connections, to Outcode. CEO Moon likens this technology to Sherlock Holmes, the detective in mystery novels, because it collects, analyzes, and organizes all evidence related to solving a case. Additionally, efforts were made to ensure the reliability of outcomes based on multi-level evaluation and evidence tracking, considering issues like context loss, bias, and hallucination often cited as AI problems.

When users upload documents and input queries, Outcode understands the user's intent like an experienced analyst and collects all related information from the documents. It then connects clues scattered across multiple documents to present a complete inference. It uncovers causal relationships and hidden information that are difficult to find with keyword searches or brief summaries.



The noteworthy aspect is Outcode's output. Most generative AI produces long sentences as if conversing with humans. In contrast, Outcode provides structured answers. This reflects the preference of experts for clear and systematic information that can be immediately utilized rather than lengthy explanations. CEO Moon stated, “Writing clearly and concisely is more challenging than writing at length. Concluding with 'This is A' instead of a vague answer indicates that the AI has thoroughly reviewed numerous materials.”

Outcode can analyze business reports spanning hundreds of pages or complex financial documents in any language within minutes. It considers the workflow of professional users, offering concise and structured reports, clear evidence presentation, and information source citation.

Given its focus on experts, security and source citation standards are stringent. CEO Moon explained, “All data is encrypted at a banking level during transmission and storage, and the Zero Data Retention policy ensures that customer data is neither stored on AI service company servers nor used for learning. The results specify all analysis stages and the exact sources of information to build trust in the agent.”

Agent to Handle Professional Research Tasks

Powertask plans to drive work innovation with Agentic AI technology specialized in document processing. Overcoming the limitations of large language models (LLM) with technology is key. CEO Moon explained that the issue lies not with the model itself but with its application.

The market offers various AI tools for document summarization, transcription, and more. However, why does AI not perform well in professional tasks? CEO Moon diagnosed that existing AI tools do not reflect the work experience and completeness of specialized fields. The solution is thorough information collection and connection, followed by repeated inference from an expert perspective to produce structured outcomes. Without agent functionality, the limitations of general AI (GPT) processing structures are evident.



While people perceive agents as substitutes for simple repetitive tasks, Powertask rejects this notion. It maintains that a properly designed agent can perform various tasks such as research work, report generation, and memo writing like a human. With AI innovation accelerating and success stories gradually emerging, CEO Moon expressed his ambition to lead the market with AI technology that will change the paradigm of professional research and analysis.

Aiming to be No. 1 in Source-grounded Research

“Development of Agentic AI specialized in specific industries is underway. The service is being built to partially replace or complement complex tasks with Agentic AI. Since this service can be applied to industrial environments worldwide, there are plans to actively enter the global market.”

Powertask successfully secured Pre-A investment, providing momentum for the advancement of Agentic AI technology and entry into overseas markets. Although still in pre-testing, CEO Moon explained that the source-based research agent platform is technically on par with the global market.

Powertask was selected for the AWS Jungle Program jointly organized by Seoul National University of Science and Technology and AWS, receiving technical support necessary for operating AI services. Various program supports such as professional investment mentoring and workshops were also conducted. CEO Moon stated, “Thanks to AWS support, the completeness of Powertask's services has improved. It is expected to be of great help in entering the global market in the future.”

Powertask aims to become the leading company in the 'source-grounded research' field, where information is analyzed based on clear sources. This expresses confidence in setting a new standard in the market for expert AI services based on Outcode's technological prowess. Additionally, there are plans to expand the Outcode service into a platform encompassing the entire workflow of specialized fields such as investment screening, legal due diligence, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) analysis.

IT Donga Reporter Kang Hyung-seok (redbk@itdonga.com)

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