[Sungkyunkwan University Campus Town Startups 2025] ‘PLAYBUNIZ,’ which is transforming part-time hiring culture through AI-powered interviews

PLAYBUNIZ is an AI startup specializing in immersive, interaction-based technology, developing 'AI Convergence' services that bridge the gap between online and offline experiences. It was founded in June 2025 by Daehyun Yang (32).

PLAYBUNIZ is currently developing a SaaS platform that features a natural, real-time voice-interactive AI interviewer, as well as 3D-based virtual characters that users can interact with seamlessly.

“We are PLAYBUNIZ, the team behind ‘ViVA!,’ an AI interview and quick-matching service that connects small business owners with part-time job seekers. Until now, part-time workers have always been in a subordinate position within the labor market. We aim to address the information imbalance in the current hiring market and create an environment where business owners and part-time workers can communicate transparently.”

Unlike most conventional AI mock interview platforms that are limited to text-based assessments, ‘ViVA’ stands out by offering qualitative evaluations of a candidate’s traits and potential through real-time voice and facial expression analysis.

“Most importantly, ‘ViVA’ is designed to alleviate the hiring burden, which remains one of the greatest pain points in running a small business. Prior to face-to-face interviews, an AI interviewer capable of accurately identifying core candidate qualities conducts interviews around the clock. Through this process, the platform efficiently matches employers with long-term candidates and quantifies the alignment between the candidate’s competencies and the employer’s expectations. A significant advantage of the system is the anonymous feedback feature, which allows both part-time workers and store owners to evaluate each other. This system enables workers to avoid ‘unreliable employers,’ such as those who delay employment contracts or fail to meet minimum wage requirements, while helping business owners identify dependable, well-matched candidates who are likely to stay long term.”

According to a three-month pilot study conducted last year with 150 participants, 82.5% of respondents reported that the AI interview was more than 90% similar to an actual interview, validating the effectiveness of the technology. The team plans to refine the MVP currently in development and conduct an effectiveness validation with local business owners in the second half of the year.

“Our strategy is to accelerate revenue growth by collecting early-stage target customer data through strategic collaborations with local business owners, franchisees, and the Small Enterprise and Market Service. We are currently pursuing seed-stage investment to close a round in the first half of next year and are actively meeting with accelerators and angel investors. We are currently participating in a domestic accelerator’s batch program, focusing on advancing our technology validation and go-to-market strategy. The investment will be efficiently allocated to optimize LLM-based AI performance for improving job matching accuracy (40%), expand B2B sales and marketing (30%), and enhance platform functionality (30%). We plan to use the secured funding to optimize LLM performance for more accurate job matching (40%), strengthen sales and B2B marketing (30%), and advance platform capabilities (30%). Through these efforts, we aim to achieve KRW 5 million in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and 10,000 monthly users by the first half of 2026.”

What made CEO Yang decide to start the business? “Drawing on six years of experience in BTL marketing, including pop-up store planning, and in the metaverse space, I felt compelled to ride the rising wave of artificial intelligence and explore its full potential. Last year, we won first place in the Qualcomm Korea Startup category of the Virtual Convergence Service Developer Competition organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which prompted us to advance our AI interview function into a mobile-optimized version. The item was selected for the government-funded Pre-Startup Package program due to its recognized public value and technological potential. We are currently in discussions for a PoC with a major recruitment platform and expect to begin generating meaningful revenue and profit in the second half of this year.”

Reflecting on his journey since founding the company, CEO Yang stated, “Collaborating with team members who possess diverse expertise in service planning, app development, and AI research has enabled us to enhance our understanding of the market while also increasing our development speed at the same time. This has been the most rewarding part.” He continued, “Creating something based on a personal vision is meaningful in itself, but I’ve come to understand that without customer participation and genuine market feedback, sustainability is not possible. Right now, I’m focused on building a viable product together with my team.”

He also shared, “As we work together toward building a sustainable company and achieving steady growth, I feel joy and a deep sense of fulfillment every time we make progress because we’re united as a team, creating something meaningful together.”

Looking ahead, CEO Yang said, “Through the ‘AI Role-Playing Coaching’ feature within the ViVA service, we aim to expand into various immersive learning experiences—not only for interviews but also for customer interaction and sales training for new employees.” He emphasized, “We are also in promising talks with a leading character IP company, well-loved across Korea, to jointly develop educational technology content for children.”

Founded: June 2025
Main Business: AI interview and quick-matching service (ViVA!) to address hiring challenges faced by small business owners
Achievements: Selected for the 2025 Pre-Startup Package by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation); chosen as an XR partner for the 2025 France NewImages Festival support program by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; selected for the SKKU Campus Town Program for two consecutive years (2024–2025)

reporter jinho lee
jinho2323@hankyung.com