Hashed Says AI-Coded Era Is Rewriting Startup Playbook as Nitro Seoul 2026 Concludes

Hashed, a global Web3 venture capital firm, held "Game Day" on April 30 at Hashed Lounge in Seoul's Gangnam district to share the results of Nitro Seoul 2026, its AI-native founder accelerator.

The event showcased outcomes from teams selected over the past eight weeks based solely on their products and metrics. Hashed also said it had rebranded its existing Hashed Vibe Labs program as Nitro by Hashed and plans to expand the initiative.

In opening remarks, Hashed Chief Executive Officer Simon Kim said the spread of natural language-based "vibe coding" is changing how startups are structured. More solo founders are using AI agents to handle both development and operations, he said.

The core competitive advantage ahead will lie in deciding what to build rather than how to build it, Kim added. He pointed to his experience building services using blockchain data as an example of the pace of technological change.

Four teams presented the services they built over the eight-week program and disclosed key metrics.

Lee Jae-hong, chief executive of AI optimization engine developer GPTO, said AI-based queries will surpass traditional search next year. Creating a structure in which brands are included in AI-generated answers will become the new marketing standard, he said. Lee added that the company has secured about 100 clients through its solution and posted April revenue of 1 billion won ($696,000).

Park Jung-hwan, chief executive of AI character-based role-playing platform Elyn, said character chat services have a business model in which improvements in AI model performance translate directly into revenue. That direct link to business metrics is a defining feature of the sector, he said. Elyn currently has 10,000 monthly active users and monthly revenue of 300 million won ($209,000).

Ahn Jeong-woo, chief executive of running platform KYRO, said the company boosted engagement by gamifying running. More than 80,000 users signed up within three months of launch, and the service has also spread quickly in Japan.

Lim Wan-seop, chief executive of generative user interface technology developer GGUI, said agents need to generate interfaces directly based on user context. That would help overcome the limits of existing text-based interfaces, he said.

A panel session that followed focused on how developers' roles and brand strategy are changing in an AI-driven environment.

Lim said designing a system's overall architecture is becoming more important than writing code directly. Park said productivity becomes constrained the moment people assume AI cannot do something, adding that the key is to use the technology without imposing limits.

Ahn said a founder's narrative and authenticity will matter more as AI-generated content proliferates. Lee added that small teams have an advantage in responding quickly to customer demands.

Hashed plans to begin accepting applications on May 11 for Nitro NS (Network School) 2026, a follow-up program scheduled to start in August.