Belinker CEO Jaemin Ahn Named to Forbes Korea 30 Under 30 in Deep/Enterprise Tech

We are proud to announce that Belinker CEO Jaemin Ahn has been selected for the Forbes Korea 30 Under 30 class of 2025 in the Deep/Enterprise Tech category. Forbes Korea selects 30 outstanding individuals under 30 each year across six categories, recognizing young leaders who are making a significant impact in their industries.

Ahn was recognized for founding Belinker — an AI-driven manufacturing technology company that operates two core business lines: Belinker Manufacturing, a fabless contract manufacturing solution, and Belinker Cloud Services, an AI-powered engineering drawing management platform.

From a Factory Floor to a manufacturing Startup

Ahn grew up working in his father's metal processing factory, giving him firsthand experience with the challenges facing small and mid-sized manufacturers in South Korea. While studying at Yonsei University as an undergraduate research student, he founded Belinker in 2022 to solve the fragmentation problem in manufacturing supply chains.

"The real problem wasn't a lack of skill on the factory floor — it was a lack of infrastructure to connect the skills that already existed."
— Jaemin Ahn, CEO of Belinker

For over three years, Ahn has been based in Cheonan — away from his hometown — visiting industrial complexes across the country to deeply understand the structural challenges facing Korea's manufacturing and foundry industries.

Belinker Manufacturing: Fabless Contract Manufacturing Solution

Producing a single finished component often requires five or more processes — CNC machining, laser cutting, bending, welding, and surface treatment. Most small factories specialize in only one or two of these steps, forcing customers to manage multiple vendors.

Belinker solves this by operating as a fabless manufacturer — orchestrating a network of 200+ partner factories across South Korea through software. Customers submit orders to a single point of contact, and Belinker handles process allocation, quality management, and delivery from its own quality control center in Cheonan.

The company has described its vision as building "the TSMC of metal parts" — just as TSMC manufactures chips for companies that design but do not fabricate, Belinker orchestrates manufacturing for companies that need parts without managing dozens of subcontractors. This model reduces manufacturing costs by up to 20% while dramatically shortening lead times.

Belinker Cloud Services: AI-Powered Engineering Drawing Management

As manufacturing operations scaled, Ahn discovered a second critical problem: engineering drawings — the foundation of every manufacturing process — were still managed via email, USB drives, and personal folders with no version control or security.

Belinker Cloud Services addresses this with an AI-powered drawing management platform purpose-built for the manufacturing industry. Key capabilities include:

• AI metadata extraction — Automatically scans drawings using vision AI to extract dimensions, material specs, tolerances, and other key attributes

• Automatic version control — Tracks every revision with full history and prevents outdated files from being used

• Auto BOM generation — Creates Bills of Materials directly from engineering drawing data

• Secure external sharing — Password-protected, time-limited sharing pages with automatic expiration

• Enterprise-grade security — ISO 27001 certified (Jan 2026), IP restriction, role-based access control, watermarks, and full audit logs

• Mobile access — View and manage drawings on-site from any device

Belinker Cloud is already trusted by major enterprise clients including SeAH Group subsidiaries (SeAH Changwon Special Steel, SeAH Special Steel, SeAH Besteel), Hankook Tire affiliates, and other leading Korean manufacturers.

Belinker by the Numbers

Key Milestones

2022

Belinker founded. Fabless contract manufacturing operations begin.

2023

Seed investment from VNTG (SeAH Group), Korea Investment Accelerator, and Korea Credit Guarantee Fund.

2024

7× YoY revenue growth. Selected for TIPS program (700M KRW R&D funding). Pre-A round led by Strong Ventures (US) with GVA Asset Management. Cumulative funding exceeds 1B KRW.

2025 Mar

Forbes Korea 30 Under 30 — CEO Jae-min Ahn selected in Deep/Enterprise Tech category.

2025 Apr

Solo exhibition at Hannover Messe 2025, the world's largest industrial technology trade fair, in Germany.

2026 Jan

Belinker Cloud earns ISO 27001 certification. Selected for Global TIPS program for North American market expansion.

What's Next for Belinker

With the recent Global TIPS selection, Belinker is preparing to establish a U.S. subsidiary and expand its fabless manufacturing network and AI cloud platform into the North American market. Initial export shipments have already been completed, with follow-on orders in active negotiation.

"This recognition belongs to our team and the clients who trusted us. Korea's manufacturing industry faces far more structural challenges than what is visible from the outside. We will keep solving those problems — one factory at a time."
— Jaemin Ahn

Belinker continues to pursue its vision of becoming the TSMC of metal parts manufacturing — a software-driven, fabless manufacturer that delivers enterprise-grade quality at scale.