SLZ, a Korean AI startup, has completed a concentrated three-event roadshow targeting the U.S. market in the first half of 2026, showcasing its flagship AI solution ROUTi at each stop. The company participated in the UKF 82 Startup Summit 2026 in Silicon Valley, the Select LA Investment Summit 2026 in Los Angeles, and the Arizona x Korea Innovation Launchpad 2026 in Seoul. The sequence was a deliberate strategy designed to establish investor relationships, sales traction, and government-level partnerships simultaneously.
SLZ made its first U.S. appearance of the year at the UKF 82 Startup Summit, organized by United Korean Founders (UKF), a network connecting Korean entrepreneurs in the United States. Held January 9 to 12 at Fox Theatre in Redwood City, California, the summit brought together startups for pitching sessions, exhibition booths, and VC networking. Speakers featured at the January 10 and 12 sessions represented companies with a combined valuation exceeding 100 trillion Korean won, cementing the event’s status as a flagship gathering within the Korean startup ecosystem.
For SLZ, the summit served as the opening move in its North American push, an opportunity to forge initial connections with Korean-American investors and identify potential local partners in the U.S. market.
The second stop brought SLZ to Los Angeles for the 11th annual Select LA Investment Summit, organized by the World Trade Center Los Angeles. Held April 28 at the Skirball Cultural Center, the event convened global investors, diplomats, corporate leaders, and government officials under the theme “LA is Open,” reaffirming Los Angeles as a prime destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) and a city defined by resilience, scale, and long-term opportunity.
SLZ’s presence at Select LA has been bolstered by active support from the LA Global Business Center (GBC), which has played a key role in facilitating buyer discovery and coordinating business meetings. “The hands-on support from the GBC has made it significantly easier to identify buyers and schedule meetings,” said a company representative. “This has become a real turning point in getting our U.S. sales operations onto a solid footing.”
The third event brought a different dynamic: a U.S. state government came to SLZ. The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) led an economic and innovation delegation through Japan, Korea, and Taiwan from May 27 to June 3. During the Korea leg, the delegation hosted the Arizona x Korea Innovation Launchpad in Seoul, a seminar designed to connect Korean innovators with Arizona’s business ecosystem, with a focus on semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technology sectors.
SLZ CEO Jae-heon Jung took the stage directly to pitch the ACA on state-level fund investment. Jung presented the commercial viability of ROUTi’s AI technology and outlined a vision for establishing Arizona as SLZ’s primary U.S. base of operations, exploring the potential for a deeper strategic partnership with the state.
Across all three events, SLZ operated exhibition booths centered on ROUTi, its core AI solution. The roadshow was not conceived as three separate appearances but as a coordinated strategy to build concurrent footholds across distinct pillars of the U.S. market: the startup and venture capital network of Silicon Valley, the investment infrastructure of Los Angeles, and the policy and government channel of Arizona.
“This run across SF, LA, and Seoul was a clear statement of SLZ’s commitment to the North American market,” said a company spokesperson. “With the LA GBC’s continued support and our discussions underway with Arizona, we intend to accelerate our U.S. business significantly from here.”
About SLZ
SLZ is a Korean AI startup developing ROUTi, an AI-powered solution built for global business expansion. The company is actively pursuing North American market entry, with operations supported by the LA Global Business Center and strategic engagement with U.S. government and investment bodies.