Shounan An, CEO of Murple
Murple.ai (CEO Shounan An) aims to revolutionize how researchers and students write academic papers. Through its AI-driven platform, Murfy, the company simplifies the complex process of academic writing, enhancing efficiency and enabling users to focus on their core ideas. Guided by the vision of “reinterpreting the value of time,” Murple supports global researchers and students in realizing better ideas.
Murfy is an AI-powered collaborative editing solution for LaTeX designed to help users write academic papers effortlessly, even without prior knowledge of LaTeX. Users can generate LaTeX code for tables, equations, images, and algorithms with an AI chat interface or receive recommendations for related reference papers.
The platform provides integrated features for translating Korean papers into English, grammar and sentence correction, and optimization for academic writing. By significantly reducing the time needed to prepare documents, Murfy is setting new standards in academic writing as a game-changer in the field.
Murple’s primary users include STEM graduate students, professors, and corporate researchers who utilize LaTeX for their work. The company aims to expand its user base from academic writing to the broader professional documentation market, leveraging software collaboration to establish itself as a key growth driver in the knowledge industry.
Images courtesy of Murple
Images courtesy of Murple
Murfy’s development stems from CEO Shounan An’s 20 years of academic and research experience. Challenges such as data collection and organization, accurate citation management, and meeting complex formatting requirements were significant obstacles that often hindered research efficiency. An’s determination to address these recurring issues and enable researchers to focus on their work’s essence led to the creation of Murfy.
Murple has already achieved noteworthy milestones. The company secured 1.8 billion KRW in seed funding from Naver Z and participated in NVIDIA’s global corporate collaboration program. Murple won first place in the AI track of the Open Innovation Demo Day for Public-Private Cooperation, received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award, and ranked fifth in the KSGC 2024 program.
Located in Pangyo Techno Valley, Murple benefits from an optimal operation environment. The area offers abundant support from the Gyeonggi Startup Campus and is a hub for networking and collaboration within the startup ecosystem. With proximity to cutting-edge tech companies and investors, Pangyo Techno Valley provides Murple with well-established infrastructure and transportation networks, maximizing efficiency and access to various campus resources.
By transforming the academic writing process, Murple is creating an environment where researchers can concentrate on their core work, shaping a new future for knowledge creation.
Pangyo Techno Valley is a global integrated R&D hub focused on IT, BT, CT, and NT, integrating Research (R), People (P), Information (I), and Trade (T). As Gyeonggi-do’s representative innovation cluster, Pangyo Techno Valley was established to secure national new growth drivers such as technological innovation, human resource development, job creation, and enhancing international business competitiveness. As of 2023, 1,666 companies employ 78,751 people, and it has positioned itself as the most innovative hub in South Korea, with sales amounting to 167.7 trillion KRW (125.5 billion USD).
Furthermore, the Techno Valley Innovation Division of the Gyeonggi-do Business & Science Accelerator (GBSA) holds monthly events such as the Pangyo Evening Meet-Up, Pan-Pan Day, and the Pangyo Startup Investment Exchange “In-Best Pangyo” to maximize the value of Pangyo Techno Valley. They also support the Pangyo Overseas Promotion Program, which publicizes information about Pangyo’s companies, products, and services to domestic and foreign investors and the media, thereby facilitating foreign investment.
