Smobile

What Smobile does

Rocketworks (로켓웍스), formerly S Mobile (에스모바일), is a South Korean AI and IoT solution provider headquartered in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Founded in 2010 as (주)에스모바일 and rebranded to (주)로켓웍스 in 2022, the company has built a 15-year track record in connected consumer devices — most notably child-focused mobile phones (the JooN series and Cookiz Mini) — and has progressively expanded into adjacent IoT and AI service verticals under CEO 김정일 (Kim Jung-il).

The company operates a portfolio spanning dedicated hardware devices and an IoT/AI software platform layer. Hardware products include the JooN kids' phone line (which has a Disney/Marvel licensed special edition), Cookiz Mini, PETWIZ (a smart pet care device launched in partnership with KT Corporation), and IRON Egg. Its software platform, VELOXAI.CREATE, hosts generative AI services including the makepic AI commerce platform (launched 2023) and a passport photo service (launched 2024), as well as MANBOO and custom chatbot offerings. The underlying technology stack integrates proprietary AI capabilities in generative AI, predictive analytics, NLP (including Text2SQL), and speech/audio processing, while leveraging the NUGU AI platform for selected workloads. The company reports more than 700,000 connected devices shipped cumulatively and more than 2 million users on its IoT platform.

Rocketworks monetizes through a combination of carrier-bundled device sales — distributed primarily through SK Telecom and KT Corporation — and software/service revenue from its VELOXAI.CREATE AI platform offerings, including makepic for SMB merchants and custom chatbot deployments. The 2016 international distribution MOU with SK Telecom and Infomark signaled intent to expand beyond the domestic Korean market, while the post-2022 product diversification into pet tech and AI commerce suggests a deliberate shift toward higher-margin recurring service revenue. The company is privately held with no public funding rounds disclosed.

Name

Smobile

Legal name

(주)로켓웍스

Website

https://smobile.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rocketworks (로켓웍스), formerly S Mobile (에스모바일), is a South Korean AI and IoT company developing connected consumer devices — including kids' phones and smart pet products distributed via SK Telecom and KT — and operating the VELOXAI.CREATE generative AI platform for commerce, imaging, and chatbot services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IoT Devices and AI Solutions

NAICS

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI/ML Solution Integration & MLOps Enablement (BPAEAAAJ), On-Device Inference Runtimes & SDKs (mobile/embedded) (HDAAAJAB), Hardware & Embedded/IoT Programming (Microcontrollers, Raspberry Pi) (EDAMACAL)

Keywords

• IoT smart devices
• AI voice recognition
• Cloud IoT platform
• Generative AI content
• Kids wearable devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Seongnam

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. IoT Device Sales (Kids Phones & Wearables): Sale of smart devices including kid-safe phones (쿠키즈 미니폰, JooN series), pet wearables (PETWIZ), and IRON Egg products through telecom carrier partnerships (SK Telecom, KT). Revenue generated from device sales to carrier partners and through carrier data/subscription plans.
2. AI-powered SaaS Solutions: AI content generation services such as makepic (fashion photo background replacement for e-commerce), VELOXAI.CREATE platforms, and other generative AI tools offered as subscription or usage-based services for content creators and businesses.
3. Platform Licensing & Development Services: Software platform development and licensing for telecom partners, including the T키즈폰 platform for SK Telecom and custom application development for various enterprise clients.
4. Cloud IoT Platform Services: Cloud-based IoT data management and monitoring services for connected devices, providing data analytics and platform infrastructure support to carrier partners.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rocketworks (Smobile) develops and manufactures AI-integrated IoT smart devices (kid-safe phones/watches, pet wearables, automatic pet feeders) and provides a cloud-based IoT platform supporting over 2 million connected devices. The company also delivers generative AI content services (makepic for fashion e-commerce, passphoto, MANBOO webtoon tool, four-cut comic editor), NLP/Text2SQL data analytics solutions, and custom chatbot development for enterprises. Products are co-developed and distributed through South Korea's major telecom carriers SK Telecom and KT.

Product overview

Smobile (로켓웍스/Rocketworks) is an AI and IoT solution company founded in 2010, operating as a platform-plus-products architecture. The company develops IoT devices and AI technologies across multiple domains. Their core product portfolio includes: VELOXAI.CREATE platform (AI creation platform), makepic (fashion e-commerce AI), PETWIZ (pet IoT device with AI feeder), MANBOO (webtoon tool), AI content editors, and various kids smart devices (JooN smartwatches, Cookiz Mini phones). They also provide cloud-based IoT platforms, custom chatbots, embedded AI solutions with voice recognition, and generative AI services. The company has shipped over 700,000 IoT devices and serves the Korean market through partnerships with SKT and KT.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• makepic: AI 기반 패션 사진 배경 교체 서비스 (AI-powered fashion photo background replacement service for e-commerce).
• PETWIZ
• MANBOO

Products and services

• makepic (AI fashion photo background replacement) AI-based commerce service that generates professional e-commerce product images by replacing fashion photo backgrounds using generative AI technology. Targeted at fashion e-commerce merchants.
• VELOXAI.CREATE (AI creation platform including passphoto) AI service platform featuring multiple AI-powered creation tools including makepic commerce AI and passphoto AI-powered passport photo generation service.
• PETWIZ AI smart automatic pet feeder AI-powered pet device with automatic feeder and IoT wearable for monitoring pet activity levels, including activity analysis and automatic feeding. Launched in partnership with KT for pet owners.
• MANBOO webtoon contour production tool AI-powered webtoon storyboard (conte) production tool for digital media content creators.
• Four-cut cartoon AI content editor (네컷만화 AI 콘텐츠 에디터) AI content editor that allows users to create four-cut comics by drawing with voice commands.
• Cookiz Mini phone (쿠키즈 미니폰) Children's smartphone with internet web browsing and app store blocked. Provides MiniTalk dedicated messenger, Naver dictionary and Papago translation for foreign language study, and MP3/video playback for audiovisual learning.
• JooN kids smartwatch (쿠키즈워치 준) Kids smartwatch line with voice calling, location tracking, and NUGU AI integration. Enables children to make voice calls, check weather, manage schedules, search bilingual dictionaries, and query Wikipedia via voice commands.
• IRON Egg smart home device Smart home monitoring device with IR functionality, launched in partnership with KT (SMR-100K).
• Custom chatbot (커스텀 챗봇) Custom chatbot development tailored to user requirements, providing fast and accurate responses with strong security and high speed for customer service across various industry sectors.
• Cloud-based IoT platform Cloud-based IoT platform supporting stable data management and real-time monitoring for over 2 million connected smart devices and wearables.
• Loving Eye location-based safety service (러빙아이) Location-based safety service for Olleh Mobile personal safety tracking, launched with KT.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 700,000 IoT smart devices shipped, demonstrating market trust and stable solution delivery.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KT CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 May 2022KT partnered with Rocketworks to launch PETWIZ AI smart automatic pet feeder with IoT wearable device for pet activity analysis. The product was offered through KT's 5G Choice plan as a device option, with KT providing 24-month installment support for device costs. Collaboration extended to multiple pet-focused smart devices including the IRON Egg product line.
• SK Telecom NUGU AI Platform (누구)coreTechnology or Integration · 30 October 2017Rocketworks integrated SK Telecom's NUGU AI platform into the JooN3 and JooN SE kids watches, enabling children to make voice calls, check weather, search schedules, use bilingual dictionaries, and query Wikipedia through voice commands. This AI integration into the JooN x NUGU product extended the smart watch's functionality for child users.
• Disney / MarvelminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 30 April 2017SK Telecom partnered with Disney and Marvel to create the JooN Special Edition kids watch featuring popular Disney and Marvel characters in its design. Rocketworks developed the underlying device technology and software platform that was customized with branded character designs for this licensed collaboration.
• SK Telecom (SK텔레콤)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2016SK Telecom partnered with Rocketworks (S Mobile) and Infomark for the international expansion of T키즈폰 (kid phone). SK Telecom leveraged its overseas telecom operator network to lead global expansion while Rocketworks handled platform and app development. Joint investment in country-specific device development and co-marketing activities. SK Telecom has also been the primary distribution partner for multiple Rocketworks product generations including JooN, JooN2, JooN Special Edition, JooN x NUGU, and 쿠키즈 미니폰.
• Infomark (인포마크)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 April 2016Infomark, a wearable device specialist that has also released fintech wearable terminals, partnered with S Mobile (Rocketworks) and SK Telecom for the joint international expansion of T키즈폰. Infomark contributed device hardware expertise while Rocketworks provided software and platform development, in partnership with SK Telecom's global telecom network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sure Petcare (Animo): Pet tech company offering the Animo activity tracker and connected feeders. Comparable to Rocketworks' PETWIZ in pet health wearables and AI-powered smart feeding devices.
• Whistle Labs (Mars Petcare): Pet activity tracker and GPS wearable company, now part of Mars Petcare. Comparable to Rocketworks' PETWIZ pet wearable + AI feeder combination, especially on the activity-monitoring and IoT-pet-health dimension.
• Kakao Enterprise: Korean AI services arm of Kakao operating AI chatbot, NLP, and enterprise AI offerings. Comparable as a Korean AI platform competitor to Rocketworks' VELOXAI.CREATE, custom chatbot, and Text2SQL solutions.
• Naver Cloud (HyperCLOVA): Naver's cloud and LLM business offering HyperCLOVA foundation models and applied AI services for Korean enterprises. Directly comparable to Rocketworks' generative AI platform and custom chatbot capabilities.
• Xplora Technologies: Norwegian kids smartwatch company offering GPS, calling, and safety features distributed through telecom partners. Most directly comparable to Rocketworks' JooN/Cookiz Mini product family and the carrier-bundled kids device GTM.
• Verizon (GizmoWatch): Verizon distributes the GizmoWatch kids smartwatch through its US carrier plans, mirroring the SK Telecom/JooN distribution model. Comparable as a carrier-bundled kids wearable GTM counterpart.

Emerging players

• Petcube: Connected pet camera and treat dispenser company targeting the same smart-pet-owner persona as PETWIZ. Comparable on the AI-enabled pet monitoring use case, though Rocketworks leads on wearable activity tracking rather than camera.

Broad incumbents

• Garmin: Global wearable and GPS device leader whose vivofit jr and Bounce kids wearables overlap with Rocketworks' JooN line. A broader incumbent with stronger brand and international reach.
• Samsung Electronics (SmartThings, Galaxy Watch Kids): Samsung's SmartThings IoT platform and Galaxy Watch Kids edition compete broadly with Rocketworks across both the IoT platform layer and the connected kids wearable category in Korea and globally.
• LG Electronics (ThinQ, IoT): LG's ThinQ smart home and IoT platform overlaps with Rocketworks' IRON Egg smart home and cloud IoT platform, particularly in the Korean market where both ecosystems compete for carrier integration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smobile_app
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smobile-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smobile