Sunghee Yun (He/Him)

Co-founder & CTO @ Erudio Bio, Inc., Chief Business Development Officer @ WeStory.ai, Advisor & Evangelist @ CryptoLab, Inc., KFAS-Salzburg Global Leadership Initiative Fellow @ Salzburg Global Seminar, Adjunct Professor @ Sogang University, Advisory Professor @ DGIST, Global Advisory Board Member @ Innovative Future Brain-Inspired Intelligence System Semiconductor of Sogang University, Network Expert @ Gerson Lehrman Group

Abstract

This presentation explores Silicon Valley’s unique innovation ecosystem through the lens of a technology leader’s journey from established corporations to AI startups. Drawing from extensive experience at Samsung Semiconductor, Amazon, and as co-founder of Gauss Labs and Erudio Bio, the analysis reveals how Silicon Valley’s distinctive cultural characteristics—including risk-taking culture, genuine respect for engineers and scientists, easy access to capital, high talent density, and collaborative competition—create an unparalleled environment for technological breakthrough and industry transformation.

The presentation examines the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence from its early rule-based systems through the current era of large language models and multimodal AI agents. Key milestones include the deep learning revolution starting in 2012 with AlexNet, the transformer architecture breakthrough in 2017, and the recent proliferation of advanced AI models like GPT-4o and Claude Sonnet in 2024-2025. This technological progression demonstrates AI’s accelerating capabilities, with adoption rates significantly outpacing previous technology waves and massive investment flows indicating strong market confidence in AI’s transformative potential.

The analysis concludes with strategic insights for bridging Silicon Valley innovation culture with global markets, particularly Korea, emphasizing the importance of customer-centric innovation, balancing agility with long-term vision, and leveraging AI strategically to solve real-world industrial challenges. The presentation advocates for fostering cross-cultural collaboration while maintaining core technological strengths, suggesting that successful innovation requires not just advanced technology and great teams, but also sound business models, market fit, and the ability to navigate cultural differences in global technology ecosystems.