Core 16
CORE16 is a Seoul-based fintech that builds AI-driven decision engines for investment exit timing, serving institutional clients (pension funds, asset managers, ETF providers, brokerages) via its Eventology™ engine and SellSmart® platform, with a proof-of-concept NYSE-listed ETF.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Core 16 does
CORE16 Inc. is a Seoul-based financial technology company founded in February 2024 that builds AI-driven decision engines focused specifically on the underserved problem of investment exit timing. The company's core technology, Eventology™ (a registered trademark), applies event ontology to transform unstructured market events into structured, decision-ready intelligence by treating events as entities and assets as connected nodes within an evolving relationship graph. Its flagship product, the SellSmart® platform, integrates Eventology with price distribution (histogram) analysis, pattern persistence detection, and AI/probabilistic decision fusion to answer three institutional questions: when to sell, when to wait, and when to reduce exposure. The system is built on approximately 100 proprietary sell signals covering S&P 500 and KOSPI markets, designed to be explainable rather than black-box.
The product portfolio operates across three layers: the SellSmart® API platform offered to institutions as either module-based integration or a full-suite deployment; the BOBP (Best of Breed Premier Index) ETF listed on the NYSE in May 2025, which uses equal-weight investment across 50 S&P 500 stocks with biweekly rebalancing as a live-market proof of concept; and the Profit Time retail service distributed through the Hankyung Eureka AI investment platform. Revenue is generated through B2B API licensing, ETF management fees, and marketplace partnerships. Target customers include pension funds, asset managers and CIO offices, ETF and index providers, brokerage digital platforms, and quant/data science teams, with Samsung Securities named as a current client.
CORE16 is led by CEO and founder David Cho (Cho Yoon-nam), a 25+ year veteran of Korean quantitative analysis and former President of CFA Society Korea, whose proprietary indicators — including the GPS Coordinate Method, Korea Discount Index, and Earnings Forecast Sentiment Index — underpin the system's methodology. The company has raised approximately $1.5 million from about 30 individual investors (supplemented by founder self-funding and KITE Entrepreneurship Foundation angel investment) and is targeting a $4 million institutional round to fund AI development, sales team expansion, and entry into Japanese and Indian markets.
Core 16 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Core 16
- Legal name
- CORE16 Inc.
- Website
- https://coresixteen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CORE16 is a Seoul-based fintech that builds AI-driven decision engines for investment exit timing, serving institutional clients (pension funds, asset managers, ETF providers, brokerages) via its Eventology™ engine and SellSmart® platform, with a proof-of-concept NYSE-listed ETF.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Core 16 industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Investment Decision Software
- NAICS
- Other Financial Vehicles (52599)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Financial Services Personalization (Banking, Investing, Insurance) (HDAAAGAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Algorithmic Trading & Execution Platforms (FSAFANAN)
Keywords
Where Core 16 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seoul
- HQ country
- South Korea
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Core 16 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- SellSmart Platform Licensing: API-based licensing of the SellSmart platform to financial institutions. Offered in two formats: module-based version integrating specific Eventology functions into existing systems, and full-suite version providing comprehensive SellSmart functionality. Targets major investment banks, asset managers, and smaller investment companies.
- BOBP ETF Management: Best of Breed Premier Index ETF (ticker: BOBP) listed on NYSE in May 2025. The ETF uses CORE16's methodology with equal-weight investment in 50 S&P 500 stocks and biweekly rebalancing. While described as a proof of concept, it generates management fees.
- Profit Time Service on Hankyung Eureka: AI-powered quantitative stock recommendation service provided through Hankyung Eureka platform. CORE16 provides daily stock picks (1-5 stocks) for retail investors through this white-label partnership.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Core 16 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Core 16 builds AI-driven decision engines, led by the SellSmart® platform, that help institutional and retail investors determine when, why, and how to exit positions. Its core engine, Eventology™, applies event ontology to transform raw market events into structured intelligence, integrated with ~100 proprietary sell signals for S&P 500 and KOSPI markets. The company also operates the BOBP ETF on NYSE and distributes daily stock recommendations via the Hankyung Eureka platform.
Product overview
Core16 operates a three-layer product strategy centered on AI-driven investment decision systems. Eventology™ serves as the core intelligence engine applying event ontology to transform raw market events into structured meaning. SellSmart® is the flagship platform powered by Eventology, providing institutional-grade exit timing intelligence with API integration capabilities for embedding into existing portfolio and risk management systems. BOBP (Best of Breed Premier Index ETF) listed on NYSE in May 2025 serves as proof of concept for Eventology's methodology, using equal-weight investment across 50 S&P 500 stocks with biweekly rebalancing. Profit Time extends Core16's capabilities to retail investors through the Hankyung Eureka platform. The company also offers multiple proprietary indicators including the GPS Coordinate Method, Korea Discount Index, Earnings Forecast Sentiment Index, and MVF Model.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Eventology™: Core intelligence engine applying event ontology to transform raw events into meaning for investment decision-making. Enables structured classification of market events, mapping relationships between events, assets, and regimes.
- SellSmart®
- BOBP (Best of Breed Premier Index ETF)
- Profit Time
Products and services
- SellSmart® Platform
- BOBP ETF (Best of Breed Premier Index ETF)
- Profit Time
Quantifiable outcome
- 46% average return for Korean stock recommendations vs 23% KOSPI return over 4 months (March-July 2025)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Core 16
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Core 16 technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability6 records
Feature9 records
Core 16 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Hankyung Eureka (한경유레카)coreCORE16's 'Profit Time' service is available on Hankyung Eureka, an AI-powered investment platform operated by Hankyung.com (digital arm of Hankyung Media Group). This partnership provides CORE16 with access to retail investors in Korea, with Hankyung Eureka accumulating nearly 100,000 downloads on Google Play Store since its May 2024 launch. CORE16 provides daily 1-5 stock recommendations through the platform.
- Samsung SecuritiescoreSamsung Securities is one of CORE16's current clients. CORE16 focuses primarily on S&P 500, KOSPI, and Samsung Securities as key accounts. The partnership involves providing sell signals and investment intelligence through CORE16's platform.
- Korean Government & Seoul City GovernmentminorCORE16 received office space support in Gwanghwamun and Seocho districts as part of Korean government and Seoul city government startup support programs. The new government has expressed strong will to support startups, including fintech startups, with increased support funding.
- FINOLABminorTokyo-based FinTech community and innovation hub organizing FINOPITCH 2026. CORE16 was selected as a finalist to pitch at this global FinTech competition held as part of Japan Fintech Week 2026, providing visibility to global investors and financial institutions.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Core 16 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AlphaSense: AI-powered market intelligence and enterprise search platform serving investment professionals. Comparable to Core16 as a fintech AI platform delivering decision-support intelligence to buy-side and corporate research teams, though AlphaSense focuses on document/search intelligence rather than exit-timing signals.
- RavenPack: Provides AI-driven news analytics and sentiment data for quantitative investors and asset managers. Highly comparable to Core16's Eventology, as both transform unstructured news and event data into structured signals for investment decision-making.
- EquBot: AI-driven ETF and index methodology provider, including the AI Powered Equity ETF (AIEQ). Closely comparable to Core16 because both apply AI to construct and manage ETF portfolios, with Core16's BOBP ETF directly competing in the AI-ETF category.
- Qplum: AI-driven investment advisory and portfolio management platform for retail and institutional investors. Comparable to Core16 as a fintech applying AI/machine learning to deliver systematic investment signals and personalized portfolio decisions.
Broad incumbents
- Kensho (S&P Global): AI and data analytics arm of S&P Global serving financial institutions with entity resolution, event-driven analytics, and machine learning solutions. Overlaps with Core16's event-driven methodology but operates at far broader scale within S&P's ecosystem.
- WorldQuant: Quantitative investment management and platform business, including the WorldQuant BRAIN platform for alpha research. Comparable as a quant-driven investment intelligence provider, though at much greater scale and broader scope than Core16's focused exit-timing niche.
- Bloomberg Terminal: Dominant financial data, analytics, and trading platform serving institutional investors globally. Overlaps with Core16 in providing investment analytics and quantitative tools to asset managers, though at vastly broader scale and different pricing model.
Emerging players
- Trefis: Quantitative investment research platform that builds forecasting models for individual stocks and portfolios. Comparable to Core16 as a data-driven investment intelligence provider, though focused more on stock valuation forecasts than exit-timing.
Regional players
- Yardeni Research: Independent investment research firm known for proprietary indicators and quantitative models applied to global markets. Comparable to Core16 in the development of proprietary market indicators (such as Core16's Korea Discount Index), though primarily US-focused and advisory rather than technology-platform based.
Others
- FinBERT / Hugging Face sentiment models in finance: Open-source NLP/sentiment-analysis tools commonly used in financial AI applications. Adjacent to Core16's Eventology because financial sentiment and event-classification models are a key underlying technology, though Hugging Face provides infrastructure rather than a competing end-product.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Core 16 social profiles
Digital presenceCore 16 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Core 16 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Core 16 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Core 16 M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Core 16
What does Core 16 do?
Core 16 builds AI-driven decision engines, led by the SellSmart® platform, that help institutional and retail investors determine when, why, and how to exit positions. Its core engine, Eventology™, applies event ontology to transform raw market events into structured intelligence, integrated with ~100 proprietary sell signals for S&P 500 and KOSPI markets. The company also operates the BOBP ETF on NYSE and distributes daily stock recommendations via the Hankyung Eureka platform.
Is Core 16 a public or private company?
Core 16 is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Core 16 founded?
Core 16 was founded in 2024. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Core 16 based?
Core 16 is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, in the Asia region.
How does Core 16 make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SellSmart Platform Licensing is the primary driver. The others are BOBP ETF Management and profit Time Service on Hankyung Eureka.
Who are Core 16's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AlphaSense, RavenPack, EquBot and Qplum. Broad incumbents are Kensho (S&P Global), WorldQuant and Bloomberg Terminal. Trefis is listed as an emerging player. Yardeni Research is listed as a regional player. FinBERT / Hugging Face sentiment models in finance is listed as an others.
Does Core 16 have an API?
Yes. SellSmart offers API integration enabling major investment banks and asset management companies to directly embed event-driven intelligence systems into existing portfolio management and risk management systems. Two sales formats are available: module-based version integrates specific functions or analysis modules of Eventology into existing systems, and full-suite version provides comprehensive SellSmart functionality.
What industry is Core 16 in?
Core 16's product category is AI Investment Decision Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAGAH, Financial Services Personalization (Banking, Investing, Insurance), with a secondary code of FSAFANAN, Algorithmic Trading & Execution Platforms. Its NAICS code is 52599 and its SIC code is 6282.