[SeoulTech x IT Donga Joint Planning] The Preliminary Startup Package Support Project (hereinafter referred to as the Preliminary Startup Package) is a key startup support project by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, aimed at assisting the establishment of promising ideas. Seoul National University of Science and Technology's Startup Support Group is serving as the organizing institution for the 2025 Preliminary Startup Package, aiding the growth and development of new enterprises. IT Donga, in collaboration with Seoul National University of Science and Technology's Startup Support Group, examines promising startups in their growth phase.


Recently, generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology is rapidly spreading in the content production field. In particular, the animation industry has high expectations that AI can solve chronic problems such as high production costs and long production periods. However, there is another issue in the field: concerns about the leakage of character intellectual property (IP).

Typical internet and cloud-based AI services have a structure that allows AI to be trained using data input by various users. In this process, there is a significant concern that valuable character IPs of companies could be leaked externally and used as training data for the AI company. In fact, controversies related to this have been ongoing overseas. A YouTube content production company in the United States created a short animation by learning from samples of Japanese animation works without consent, and major image-generating AI developers like Stability and Midjourney have been embroiled in copyright lawsuits, making IP leakage and unauthorized use a hot issue in the industry.

‘HOIT STUDIO (CEO Kim Min-jae)’ has stepped forward to solve these problems. They are a startup developing solutions that allow animation production using AI technology without concerns about IP leakage. Notably, they showed potential by signing a contract with a mid-sized American animation production company just three months after founding. The press met with CEO Kim Min-jae to hear about HOIT STUDIO's startup story and the characteristics of their solution.

- What motivated you to start HOIT STUDIO? Why particularly focus on the AI animation field?

: Originally, I was a computer science student. Early this year, AI image and video generation technology was extremely hot. Many AI-made videos appeared on YouTube and Instagram Shorts. I thought this technology could solve existing problems in the content production industry.

So, I started preparing for the startup in earnest from December 2024. Initially, it began as a pilot service. Together with team members, we created a website using Midjourney AI technology where people could create images for free. We posted it in university communities to test student reactions, and about 200 people used it. Although it wasn't an explosive response, it was clear that it attracted people's interest. Based on this, we prepared for the Preliminary Startup Package and officially registered the business and started the company in June 2025.

- The company name 'HOIT' is unique. What does it mean?

: It conveys the feeling of casting a magic spell. Like shouting 'HOIT' and something magical being created, similar to the character Dooly the Little Dinosaur. We wanted to deliver a magical and amazing AI technology-based animation production experience to our customers.

- Please explain in detail about HOIT STUDIO's main solution. What problems are you trying to solve?

: We provide an 'AI animation production solution without IP leakage.' Although the official name of the solution is undecided, it was tested under the name 'VIIBRA' during the pilot service.

The biggest problem in animation production was the high cost. Creating a 20-30 minute animation typically costs over KRW 300 million. This was based on a 2020 article, so the price would be higher now. Therefore, there is great expectation that using AI could solve the cost problem.

However, applying AI brings another concern. Content producers are very reluctant to have their character IPs leaked to external services like Google, Midjourney, or OpenAI. They absolutely want to prevent their valuable characters, worth tens of billions of KRW, from being learned and used externally without permission.

Another issue is that animations created with AI must move precisely as the producer desires. While the results can be uploaded to Instagram or YouTube, achieving the quality needed for TV broadcasting or theater releases is challenging.


- What specific methods has HOIT STUDIO proposed to solve the above problems?

: There are two key solutions. The first is the IP security issue. We conduct all work in a personal PC or private cloud environment. From model training to image generation, everything is done in such environments. Since we do not use external clouds, there is no risk of customer data being leaked to external companies.

The second is the character consistency issue. Maintaining the original character's art style is not easy. For example, working with a character in the original 'One Piece' art style, but when changing expressions through AI, the result comes out in a completely different 'Ghibli' art style. We solve this by training a dedicated AI model optimized with customer data. We take an open-source model and retrain it with customer data, leveraging the strengths of the open-source model while accurately reflecting the customer's character traits.

We also offer a sketch-based image creation feature. Content creators can specify basic outlines or actions through sketches, and we create character movements that match the sketches. It allows for detailed control, such as how to extend a hand or what expression to make. The advantage is that it can implement the creator's ideas as desired, rather than starting from scratch.

- What AI model do you use? And can it really run smoothly on a PC?

: We use the Qwen AI model as a base, applying our know-how through fine-tuning to optimize it for each customer. As a result, it is light enough to run on PCs or private clouds. Although it might be challenging on standard PCs, it can run sufficiently on a workstation PC with a GeForce RTX 3090-grade graphics card.

- Despite being in the early stages of the startup, I heard there have been business achievements. Could you introduce them?

: We founded the company in June 2025, and by September, just three months later, we signed a contract with a mid-sized American animation production company, Company L. It is a KRW 7,000 contract. The project is currently ongoing and is expected to continue until early next year.

In fact, many startups struggle to secure a proper project even years after founding. In that sense, signing a contract with an overseas company within three months is a meaningful achievement.

- What kind of work will you be doing with the company?

: We received character data, storyboards, sketches, and animation video data from the company. We divide this into scenes, create data, and train the AI model. Through this process, we implement the scenes they want.

Before the contract, they requested a test. They asked us to implement a specific scene, and when we sent it back, they approved it, leading to the contract. We believe our solution's high security and excellent video generation capability influenced their decision.


- How is the current business model structured?

: Currently, it is centered on B2B. The main customers are content producers or animation studios that own character IPs. As with Company L, we receive character datasets from the client, create models, and generate scenes for delivery.

However, we plan to offer apps or web services that allow customers to work directly in the future. We are currently developing a website little by little, thinking it might be useful someday. Given the number of individual content creators recently, we believe expansion into the B2C field is also possible.

- There must have been many challenges in running a startup. What was the most difficult part?

: The biggest challenge is the lack of manpower. Originally, there were a few team members, but now I am essentially doing it alone. As a startup, it's not easy to recruit talented individuals. Once we establish references and processes, we plan to recruit team members again.

- I heard you are using SeoulTech's Preliminary Startup Package program. What kind of support have you received?

: The mentoring program was particularly useful. While I had ideas and technology, I lacked knowledge in company management and marketing as an entrepreneur. Through mentoring, I was able to correct shortcomings in the overall business planning process.

Networking was also a great help. Meeting other entrepreneurs provided insights. It was really beneficial to share experiences and know-how with senior entrepreneurs.

They also helped a lot in the process of executing business expenses and exchanging documents with the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development. I received a lot of help in administrative aspects like document preparation. I made many calls and mistakes, but they helped resolve them well, for which I am grateful.


- What are your future plans? In what direction do you intend to proceed?

: For the time being, we plan to focus on securing and verifying references. We want to successfully complete the ongoing project with the American company and use it as a basis to secure more clients. Our goal is to expand our business to more animation studios in the U.S. and Japan.

In addition to the B2B business, creating a B2C website is also a goal. If we gain enough know-how and establish a work process, we are considering producing content ourselves. This work is really enjoyable. The process of creating videos itself is fun. Although running the business is challenging due to inexperience, the work of content creation itself is very enjoyable.

Above all, we want to widely share this fun with others based on the excellent technology of AI. Although we are a small startup now, we want to contribute to shaping the future of AI-powered animation production.

IT Donga Reporter Kim Young-woo (pengo@itdonga.com)

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