Upstage's Soh Haein: "Relentless Challenges Led to Korea’s National AI... Becoming a Thinking Partner Opens Doors" [Power K Women]

Interview with Soh Haein, Head of Education at Upstage
From Nvidia to Upstage: Joining as a Co-Founder
Vice President of Education, Leading AX Trend Analysis and Curriculum Design
High Proportion of Women Among Employees and Executives

The career of Sohn Haein, Head of Education (Vice President) at Upstage, has been a continuum of "challenges." Not originally from a STEM background, she was an ordinary liberal arts student when she began her journey by joining NVIDIA—the world's largest company by market capitalization and a leader in technology—as a one-year intern. This was before the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom had truly taken off. Although her internship contract ended, her passion was recognized by the company, which offered her a fixed-term position that allowed her to continue working.

As AI began to gain momentum, she left NVIDIA to take on a new challenge: launching a startup. This was about two years before the launch of ChatGPT, but she held a firm belief that the AI ecosystem would rapidly expand. Sohn joined Upstage as one of its founding members, leading efforts in global expansion, marketing, and educational business. Proving her conviction right, Upstage became the only startup to participate in the government's Independent AI Foundation Model project (also known as Dokpamo), earning the title of "national AI flagship company." Furthermore, it became the first generative AI startup in Korea to attain unicorn status, with a company valuation exceeding 1 trillion won.

Although the tech industry—AI included—has long been known for its male-dominated culture, the proportion of women in tech has grown noticeably in recent years. Vice President Sohn advises women in the tech field, "If you develop your own unique capabilities, you will eventually become an indispensable talent that both companies and the market seek out first. As long as you do not waver according to others' standards and set clear goals with your own perspective, you will be able to grow." The following is a Q&A with Vice President Sohn.

Sung Hein, Vice President of Upstage, is being interviewed on the 20th of last month in a meeting room at Sparkplus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

-What is your role at Upstage?

▲I joined Upstage as a co-founder when it was established in 2020 and currently oversee the AI education business. My role is to create and expand the AI ecosystem within Upstage—developing educational curricula and delivering courses aimed at company employees seeking AI transformation (AX), as well as university students. I spend most of my time identifying AX trends through interviews and research, then designing and developing curricula accordingly.

-How did you come to join Upstage?

▲Immediately before joining Upstage, I was at NVIDIA, where I worked on building the ecosystem by educating others about technologies and platforms such as CUDA. When I joined NVIDIA, it was just before the launch of AlphaGo (the Go AI from Google DeepMind), and soon after joining, AI began to truly emerge as a key trend. Global AI startups began springing up everywhere, and the market started shifting toward an AI-centric paradigm. Around this time, I met CEO Kim Sunghoon and Chief Technology Officer Lee Hwalseok, who invited me to join them at the beginning of Upstage, and that is how I came on board.

-Upstage is the only startup to have cleared the first evaluation stage of the government-led Independent AI Foundation Model (Dokpamo) project. How do you feel?

▲At Upstage, the journey has been filled with intense challenges. I am proud of my colleagues who have successfully overcome each new wave. As long as you are active in the AI industry, huge waves of change will keep coming—and I look forward to the opportunities arising from the next new challenge even more.

Sung Haein, Vice President of Upstage, is interviewed by The Asia Business Daily on the 20th of last month in a conference room set up at SparkPlus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

-Within Upstage, how many women participate in actual AI model development or decision-making?

▲Women make up about 30% to 40% of the workforce at Upstage. There are teams led primarily by women playing a leading role even in core AI modeling departments. The proportion of women carrying out critical work required for AI model development is also quite high. Notably, about 40% to 50% of management positions at Upstage are held by women—a distinctive feature compared to other tech companies. Our Chief Product Officer (CPO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), and head of the U.S. subsidiary are all women.

-It is known that you work while raising a child. What internal policies or cultural aspects at Upstage have been particularly helpful in balancing work and childcare?

▲At Upstage, company-wide remote work is the standard, and working hours can be flexibly arranged. Thanks to this fully remote work model, I could carry out my duties in my hometown of Ulsan with support from my mother. The flexible working hours were even more helpful than remote work itself. After taking care of my child, I could complete my remaining work once the baby was asleep. Above all, Upstage's "culture of mutual trust" allowed me to fully make use of flexible arrangements. There is a fundamental belief that "even if colleagues work flexibly, they will complete their tasks responsibly." This was the biggest factor that enabled me to continue pursuing both my work and parenting. Performance is evaluated based on results rather than processes, and the company actively supports employees to help them focus on outcomes.

-From your experience in the education field, have you noticed a significant increase in the number of women pursuing IT careers?

▲During my time at NVIDIA in the mid to late 2010s, when I directly managed tech communities, 80% to 90% of participants were men. To expand women's networks in tech, I formed separate women's groups, but even then, the total only reached about 100 people. At that time, female developers or engineers were so rare that you had to ask around to find them. Now, when I visit universities or corporations to deliver training, I can definitely feel that the proportion of women has increased. As the spectrum of skills desired by the market broadens, the diversity of women I meet in educational settings has also grown. Recently, when I conducted advanced modeling classes at POSTECH and KAIST, there were visibly much more female students than in the past.

-As someone who has been in the tech field for a long time, are there particular strengths or areas where women can excel in AI?

▲Rather than being constrained by preconceptions of what "women are good at," it is more important to clearly define your personal preferences, temperament, and strengths. Those who consciously focus on what they genuinely like and which career they wish to advance will see their opportunities expand. The more objective a person is about their own skills and interests, the more opportunities will arise for them. In this era, where opportunities explode based on individual traits and capabilities rather than gender differences, AI will eventually become a basic foundation for all services and infrastructure, much like the internet did before. If you chart out the field you want to pursue and develop a clear, personal understanding of how AI can be applied as a tool along the way, you will be able to succeed regardless of your gender or major.

-Could you offer some encouragement or advice to women aspiring to enter the AI industry or those actively building their careers in this field?

▲If you contemplate the true direction of your desired career and develop your unique capabilities, you will eventually become an indispensable talent that companies and the market seek out first. The most important thing is not to waver according to others' standards but to possess clear subjectivity and ownership. Even within our education team, there are people with diverse backgrounds, such as a Gayageum musician, a radio producer, and a school teacher. While their backgrounds differ greatly, they all have one thing in common: they live as owners of their own lives. Individuals who preserve their distinct colors and establish their own standards will be valued all the more in the rapidly changing tech industry. In the age of AI, even top management cannot predict what major technological wave will come next month. Compared to those who merely do what they are told, there is a critical need for "thinking partners" who can interpret changes and think through alternatives together. For those who are prepared, opportunities are boundless.

▶About Sohn Haein, Head of Education (Vice President) at Upstage

Sohn was a founding member of Upstage, a leading national AI company that passed the first stage of evaluation for the government's Independent AI Foundation Model project (Dokpamo). She currently leads Upstage's AI education program, including the development and operation of platforms and content, and drives the company's global business expansion. In Upstage's early days, she led brand strategy and marketing, establishing the company's brand system and building its sales pipeline. During this period, she spearheaded Upstage's entry into both the Japanese and U.S. markets. Before joining Upstage, she led product and solution marketing as well as AI education projects for enterprise customers at NVIDIA.

Suh Haein, Vice President of Upstage, is posing while holding a sculpture made to commemorate the selection as a unicorn company before an interview with The Asia Business Daily at a conference room set up at Sparkplus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 20th of last month. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.