Latest news with #SimonKim
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
‘Sexy' Korean-American fried chicken restaurant has a deeper message for diners
Simon Kim, a hospitality executive who is behind some of the most popular restaurants in the US, says diners are packing out his newest offering: a ritzy New York fried chicken venue that blends Korean flavours, American style and a message on sustainability. He brands Coqodaq, which opened in 2024, as a 'cathedral of fried chicken', with its churchlike design, 1,000-person-plus nightly waiting list, viral caviar-topped nuggets, and a champagne menu that Kim boasts is the longest in the US. While these features get customers through the door, Kim hopes that what sticks most is a focus on delivering more environmentally friendly meals. 'When they see that environmental causes are a part of this sexy, successful restaurant, it starts to create a little more interest – an initiation to learn more,' Kim said at the recent Bloomberg Green Seattle conference in the US. Simon Kim is the founder and chief executive officer of Gracious Hospitality Management. Photo: Cote Coqodaq's chicken is from a regenerative Amish farm in the state of Pennsylvania that produces certified humane, pasture-raised birds. The 150-seat restaurant uses cultured oil from Zero Acre Farms, which touts its product as delivering vastly lower emissions than typical alternatives, along with reduced water consumption and land use.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Bloomberg
The 1,000 Person-a-Night Waitlist for Sustainable Fried Chicken
One of New York's hottest food venues is luring diners with viral caviar-topped nuggets, and delivering a message on environmentally-friendly eating. By and Kate Krader Save Simon Kim, the hospitality executive behind some of the most sought-after restaurants in the US, says diners are packing out his newest offering — a ritzy New York fried chicken venue that blends Korean flavors, American style and a message on sustainability. He brands Coqodaq, which opened last year, as a 'cathedral of fried chicken,' with its church-like design, 1,000-person plus nightly waitlist, viral caviar-topped nuggets and a champagne list that Kim boasts is the longest in the US. While these features get customers through the door, he hopes what sticks most is a focus on delivering more environmentally-friendly meals.
Business Wire
16-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Pluto Labs' 'Strategic Efficiency' AI Outperforms Google & Anthropic Models at a Fraction of the Cost
SEOUL, South Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the global race to create an 'AI Scientist' capable of independent scientific discovery, Korean startup Pluto Labs is making significant waves. While tech giants like Google and Anthropic define competitive strength by sheer computing power, Pluto Labs introduces 'Scinapse AI,' a groundbreaking model that develops a more effective AI Scientist at just one-tenth of the usual computational cost, achieving overwhelming performance against top models in blind evaluations. Surprising results: A startup's AI now leads in scientific idea generation Share Pluto Labs pioneers a 'Strategic Efficiency' architecture, mirroring how human scientists optimize research. Instead of brute-force computing (like Google's 'Co-scientist'), Scinapse AI smartly delegates inefficient tasks, such as sifting through vast data, to its existing Scinapse academic search system (used by 170,000 researchers). This allows the AI to focus exclusively on creative reasoning and generating new ideas, leading to unparalleled practicality and cost-efficiency. Scinapse AI's superior performance was proven in blind evaluations judged by direct competitors' AI models (OpenAI O3, Anthropic's Claude 4 Opus, and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro). Scinapse AI consistently ranked #1 in 'Plausibility' (how realistic and sound an idea is) and 'Testability' (how easily an idea can be experimentally validated) across 61 diverse scientific topics. This confirms Scinapse AI delivers "real scientific hypotheses that are practical to implement and can be experimentally validated within 3-5 years," a significant leap from 'plausible fiction' to 'actionable scientific research.' Pluto Labs has developed a robust system to eliminate AI 'hallucinations' (false information), a critical barrier in scientific AI. All Scinapse AI ideas are strictly grounded in a database of 260 million academic papers. The system dynamically refines searches for highly accurate data and rigorously cross-references ideas against the database to guarantee genuine novelty, identifying truly new scientific insights. "It provides the most complete answer to the question that challenges researchers most: 'Is this idea truly new?'" said Professor Changshin Jo of POSTECH."The AI completes a literature review in minutes that would take a human researcher days or weeks, and with higher accuracy. This is not just an idea-generation tool; it's an innovation that fundamentally changes the starting point of research planning." With cumulative funding of 5 billion KRW (~$3.6M USD), Pluto Labs is uniquely positioned to disrupt the global 'AI Scientist' race. Its 'efficiency' and 'practicality' approach, combined with its established Scinapse platform, sets it apart. "The fact that a small Korean startup has proven superior to Google in an objective benchmark is more than just a technical achievement—it's a symbolic event for innovative leadership," said Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed."It demonstrates that success in advanced AI can be achieved through creative problem-solving and strategic design, not just infinite capital. This is a significant milestone that points to the future direction for the global AI ecosystem, suggesting a new path for AI agent development." Scinapse AI is slated for official global launch in Q3 2025. About Pluto Labs: Pluto Labs is a Seoul-based Research Intelligence service company founded in 2019 that specializes in AI-powered scientific research tools. The company operates Scinapse, a comprehensive academic search platform used by over 170,000 researchers worldwide. Scinapse AI, launching in Q3 2025, is a next-generation AI scientist system that generates research ideas with high scientific validity through a hybrid AI architecture while maintaining cost efficiency. The company has raised a cumulative 5 billion KRW (~$3.6M USD) in funding from investors including Hashed, JB Investment, HG Initiative, and POSCO Investment. Pluto Labs is committed to leading global research innovation through accessible AI solutions.
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
COTE's Simon Kim on Sustainable Dining
Simon Kim, CEO & Founder, Gracious Hospitality Management discusses how to make meat-centric restaurants environmentally responsible with Bloomberg's Kate Krader at Bloomberg Green Seattle 2025. (Source: Bloomberg)
