TLDR: Generative AI startup 42Maru participated in the ‘AWC: AI for Defense’ forum on July 28, 2025, presenting defense-specific generative AI applications and discussing the future of AI transformation in the defense sector. The company highlighted its ultra-lightweight language models (sLLM) and augmented search generation (RAG) technologies for defense design automation and knowledge-based operations.
Generative AI startup 42Maru, led by CEO Dong-Hwan Kim, announced its participation in the ‘AWC: AI for Defense’ forum, held on the afternoon of July 28, 2025, at the National Assembly Members’ Hall. The forum served as a critical platform to explore the applicability of AI technology within the defense sector and to strategize future advancements. Key domestic and international defense AI companies, including Palantir, Dassault Systèmes, Hanwha Aerospace, SIA, and Quantum Aero, were in attendance, presenting their core technologies and practical application cases.
42Maru, a prominent domestic generative AI firm, took part in a special panel session. During this session, the company introduced its innovative defense design automation and knowledge-based operation cases. These solutions integrate ultra-lightweight language models (sLLM), augmented search generation (RAG), and document automation technologies, demonstrating their potential to revolutionize defense operations.
CEO Dong-Hwan Kim emphasized the critical importance of digital transformation within the national defense and defense industry, stating, ‘Digital transformation of national defense and defense industry is no longer a choice, but a matter of survival.’ He further highlighted that ‘the inherent LLM and RAG-based sovereign defense AX, which have learned from real-world data, are the core axes of AI technology sovereignty and an essential alternative to respond to the rapidly changing battlefield environment.’
Kim specifically shared the feasibility of defense AX by presenting examples of generative AI-based design support systems and question-and-answer document analysis tools that are directly applied in domestic defense industry sites. Notably, 42Maru is actively collaborating with KAI (Korea Aerospace Industries) to develop an ultra-light language model-based design support system tailored for the aerospace and defense industry. This initiative aims to enhance both the speed of power generation and design quality through the application of generative AI technology to complex aerospace design tasks.
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The company’s efforts are geared towards overcoming the limitations of traditional search-based information exploration, thereby maximizing the practical work efficiency of field maintenance and repair units. CEO Kim Dong-hwan reiterated, ‘Sovereign Defense AX is a strategic asset that can simultaneously realize operational efficiency and information superiority,’ and affirmed that ’42Maru will contribute to the realization of technological sovereignty and innovation in future battlefields through defense-specific generative AI technology optimized for the defense and defense industry.’
