ESTsoft
South Korean software company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Founded in 1993, ESTsoft is a South Korean application software development company. Its software ranges from desktop to business software for enterprises.[2] ESTsoft listed on the KOSDAQ market in 2008 (ticker: 047560). The company develops and provides software and artificial intelligence (AI)-based services, including AI dubbing, virtual avatars, and AI search, mainly in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) format.
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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development, Video game development |
| Founded | October 2, 1993 |
| Headquarters | Banpo-daero 3, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sangwon Chung (CEO) |
| Products | Perso AI,ALZip, Cabal Online, and 14 more |
Number of employees | 173 (2024)[1] |
| Website | www |
History
ESTsoft was founded in 1993 in Seoul, South Korea, as a developer of desktop and business software.[3]
During the 2000s, the company released a series of software products under the "ALTools" brand, including ALZip and ALSee, which became widely used among Korean PC users.
ESTsoft was listed on the KOSDAQ market in 2008 (ticker: 047560).[4]
In the 2010s, the company expanded into the online gaming industry with titles such as Cabal Online and Cabal 2.[5]
Since the early 2020s, ESTsoft has shifted its strategic focus toward artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, launching services such as the AI dubbing platform "Perso AI," virtual avatar solutions, and the AI search engine "Alan."[6]
In 2025, the company was selected for the Korean government's K-FAST initiative, which supports AI dubbing technology to globalize K-content.[7]
In December 2025, ESTsoft announced the launch of K-content FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels for the global market, utilizing its AI dubbing technology on LG TV channels. The service includes channels such as "TRAVEL ON" and "GAME ON," with "FOOD ON" and a romantic comedy drama channel, "Series K," scheduled for launch on Samsung TV Plus in January 2026.[8]
In January 2026, ESTsoft collaborated with Samsung Electronics to unveil the "AI Promoter" at CES 2026 during Samsung's "The First Look" event. "AI Promoter" integrates on-device AI and object recognition technologies to provide detailed information on Samsung's flagship products.[9]
In February 2026, ESTsoft signed a MOU with NTT (Japan's largest telecommunications company) and Nihon Kotsu, a major Japanese taxi operator, to introduce its real-time conversational AI Avatar service, "Perso Interactive," into Japanese taxis. The partnership aims to provide foreign tourists with AI-powered services such as real-time interpretation, tourism information, and restaurant recommendations.[10]
In March 2026, ESTsoft participated in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. to exhibit its real-time conversational AI human service, "Perso Interactive." Advancing from its initial launch, the company demonstrated the technology's practical applications across the mobility, retail, and telecommunications sectors. Visitors to the ESTsoft booth will experience the versatility of "Perso Interactive" across five dedicated zones(Mobility, Information, Retail Media, Customer Experience, Developer Ecosystem)[11]
Government project K-EXAONE
In August 2025, ESTsoft was selected as a national representative elite team for the "AI Foundation Model" project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea.[12]
In January 2026, ESTsoft successfully advanced to the second stage of the South Korean government's "Independent AI Foundation Model Project" as a member of the consortium led by LG AI Research. This consortium, which is developing the sovereign AI model K-EXAONE, secured the first-place ranking in the initial phase of evaluation.[13]
Products
ESTsoft provides AI-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions under its AI brand.[14]
Perso AI
Perso AI is ESTsoft's AI-powered content platform launched in 2024, comprising three services: Perso AI Dubbing (multilingual video dubbing), Studio Perso (virtual human video creation), and AI Live Chat (interactive avatar service for real-time conversation).[15]
Perso AI Dubbing
Perso AI Dubbing is a SaaS platform providing AI-based video dubbing and multilingual translation in 33 languages. It automatically recognizes speech in video content and regenerates it in the target language while retaining the original speaker's vocal characteristics, including tone, emotion, and intonation.[16]
The platform supports multi-speaker detection for up to ten simultaneous speakers and accepts video files (MP4, MOV, WebM) as well as URLs from YouTube, TikTok, and Google Drive. Output is delivered as a lip-synced MP4 file with an SRT subtitle file.[17]
In 2025, ESTsoft partnered with ElevenLabs to integrate neural voice synthesis models into the platform, improving the naturalness of synthesized speech across supported languages.[16] In the same year, the company applied large language model (LLM) technology to further improve synchronization accuracy and multilingual output quality.[18]
Within one year of launch, the platform accumulated 200,000 subscribers.[19] The platform was also selected for the South Korean government's K-FAST initiative to support globalization of Korean cultural content through AI dubbing[7] and was recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as an innovation case for global AI contributions.[20]
ElevenLabs noted that the partnership enabled production workflows running up to 70% faster than traditional dubbing methods at 90% lower cost.[16] In late 2025, Perso AI Dubbing was also used to power K-content FAST channels distributed globally via LG and Samsung TV platforms.[18]
Alan
Alan is an AI-powered search engine and generative assistant developed by ESTsoft.[21][22]
ALTools
There are several products marketed under the "ALTools" product line. In Korea, "Al" means "egg", and numerous products under this category have egg-themed icons and mascots. ALTools products include:
- ALZip – a compression and archiving utility, supporting several archiving formats, including ISO
- ALFTP – an FTP client and server
- ALSee – an image viewer and photo editor
- ALPass – a password manager for web sites (update service ended)
- ALGIF – a GIF animation program (update ended)
- ALSong – an MP3 player which supports online content
- ALShow – a media player
- ALMap – a family of digital map viewers and GPS (both software and hardware) (update ended)
- ALX – digital rights management software
- ALToolbar – a toolbar for Internet Explorer
- ALYac – an antivirus based on BitDefender engine
Other ESTsoft products include:
- InternetDISK – online storage solution
- iDisk – A version of InternetDISK designed for ISPs to host larger amounts of data
- iMan – instant messaging software
- Cabal Online – a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
- Cabal 2 – a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
- HeroesGo (also known as Howling Sword) – a massively multiplayer online role-playing game
