ⓒ Testworks

Now it’s time to take a look at a Korean business bringing about changes in the global economy with some new ideas. 

The company we’re going to introduce today is Testworks, a social enterprise that provides AI data and software testing solutions. Let’s hear from company CEO Yoon Seok-won. 

Established in 2015, Testworks develops innovative solutions in AI dataset building and software testing. 

It is a social venture that pursues diversity in the fields of STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The company name means “testing infinite possibilities.” It reflects our hope to provide opportunities to people with high potential, regardless of gender, age, disability or nationality, so we can grow with them and expand social values. We believe that everyone has boundless potential. It seems many jobseekers feel frustrated as they fail to get job after job. We wondered if they were really given a fair chance in society. We hope to offer them opportunities to find jobs they are good at, work, grow, get promoted and lead a life of selfless service to society. 

Yoon previously worked as a software engineer at a venture startup in Silicon Valley, Microsoft and Samsung Electronics. His company, Testworks, specializes in building datasets for AI training. It provides a one-stop service that covers AI data collecting, data labeling and data quality testing. 

AI and a social enterprise may sound like an unlikely match. From the beginning, the company put social values first. It wished to hire anyone who has potential, regardless of gender, background or age, and it looked for a field where such diversity would prove to strong. Eventually, it chose AI data. 

After I met with young North Korean defectors, I felt immense satisfaction at the thought that they could completely change their lives with my help, even though it was just a little. 

Those with autism might have social challenges in their lives, but they can think systematically and have a high level of object-centered empathy. They are not easily worn out by tedious work and they are very good at details. That’s exactly what is required for AI data processing. They are doing a really good job and help the company produce profit. Working with those with autism, we thought women could manage them properly. 

So we hired women who had given up their careers for childcare and let them work with employees with autism under the same teams. By combining their respective strengths, we have been able to maximize efficiency and achievements. 

More than 30 percent of Testworks’ employees are those who find it difficult to get jobs, such as women preparing for re-employment after career breaks, the elderly and disabled people. Many have a preconception that companies prioritizing social values do not earn much money in general. But Testworks was able to realize social values and achieve growth at the same time. The company had a single-digit number of employees in the first year of its establishment, but the number soared to 150 only in five years. 

Companies cannot pursue social values if their products fail to gain recognition in the market. Having this in mind, Testworks made great efforts to keep the two different goals in balance and make them create a virtuous circle. Of course, the process was far from easy. 

At first, many people around us said that it was nonsense. We set up a social enterprise to do something good, but we acutely felt that what would matter the most is product quality and customer satisfaction. We developed a three-stage testing system and operated it for the first time in Korea. 

Working with people with developmental disabilities, we found that their lifestyles had to do with their work performance. We began to encourage them to have meals on time and exercise regularly to stay healthy. As we managed their lives in that way, their performance improved. 

In the initial stage, we also had to make a difficult decision to invest in R&D. At the time, it was hard to find competent engineers who would agree to our business model. We underwent challenges during that process.

 

Testworks’ key solutions include “aiworks,” a platform for collecting and processing AI training data, and “blackolive,” which is a solution for data automation, processing and management. These solutions are widely sought after, because professionalized AI services offered by companies and industries have resulted in growing demand for data building. Testworks informs users of how to build data for a particular business and how to process them. Companies that received support from Testworks can secure high-performance AI. 

We provide a one-stop solution to collect and process data and to automate data processing. It handles the entire process of data processing needed to develop AI services. We provide high-quality datasets, compared to our rival firms. We also boast excellent automation technology and a high level of accuracy, and I’m sure customers can use much greater services at the same prices. We’ve carried out the projects of building video data of pedestrian walking for those with disabilities, video data of sign language for the hearing-impaired and traffic data from CCTV footage of highways. 

Citizens can participate in the company’s data collection project through “aiworks.” The participants are provided with points that can be converted into cash or their work can be recognized as volunteer work. Data collection may sound like a difficult job, but it is actually easy to participate in the project. For example, you may choose three important words in a newspaper article and summarize them in one sentence. Quality data like these are necessary for AI training. The project can lower the barrier to citizens’ entry to the AI industry and also contribute to creating an AI ecosystem consisting of many Korean words and phrases. 

Armed with product quality and technological prowess, we have discovered new talents, offered fair opportunities to jobseekers and practiced diversity. 

In doing so, we believe we’ve created a new employment paradigm in the field of AI. In recognition of our dedication, we were selected as the DNA Best Practice Company of May last year by the Ministry of Science and ICT. DNA here refers to data, network and artificial intelligence. We also won the presidential citation at the ceremony hosted by the ministry to commemorate the Month of Information and Culture in June this year. 

Our goal is to expand our global presence and become an AI data firm representing Asia. We hope to give opportunities to many more people and create various solutions and services that use AI in a good way so we can create more social values.

Companies advocating diversity can hire more competent workers. According to a McKinsey report, companies in the top quartile of gender diversity were 15 percent more likely to have financial returns, compared to their national industry median. Similarly, the analysis found that companies in the top quartile of racial or ethnic diversity were 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their national industry median. 

Testworks uses “difference and diversity” to sharpen its competitive edge, and that’s why we have high hopes for the future of this company.