B2En

B2En, founded in 2004 and listed on KOSDAQ in 2021 via a SPAC merger, is a data and AI specialist offering data strategy consulting, big data system design and construction, data quality management and governance policy establishment, and AI/ML-based consulting and implementation services.

Its core focus includes unstructured big data analysis and quality management support, and the company is pursuing platform business development aimed at covering the full range of data platform services.

Its customer base is primarily a B2B model targeting public institutions and corporations, with revenue built on project-based contract wins. Its data quality management solution 'SDQ' is supplied to local governments and public institutions that need support responding to public data quality assessments.

In 2025 the company also adjusted its portfolio, investing in BB Data Brick and selling its stake in J&H Holdings.

In February 2026, it signed a platform development agreement with global cryptocurrency exchange Binance for the domestic launch of Binance Pay, attempting to expand into a new business area by developing marketing systems and merchant-linked payment environments using its AI and big data capabilities.

This partnership initially targets building a dollar-based stablecoin payment environment for foreign tourists, with plans to expand step by step to domestic users if won-based stablecoins are institutionally permitted in the future.

In terms of competitive positioning, the company competes with numerous small and mid-sized IT service firms in data consulting and quality management, while in the newly entered crypto payment infrastructure segment, no clear domestic competitor has yet emerged given the early stage of the market.

B2En's revenue rose from KRW 27.1 billion in 2022 to KRW 32.0 billion in 2023, then declined for two consecutive years to KRW 25.1 billion in 2024 and KRW 14.6 billion in 2025. Notably, 2025 revenue fell 41.7% year-on-year to KRW 14,624,545,174.

The operating loss, which had stayed around KRW 2.2-2.6 billion annually from 2022 through 2024, sharply widened to KRW 6.7 billion in 2025, pushing the operating margin down to negative 46.1%.

On an owners-of-parent net income basis, losses persisted at KRW -2.2 billion in 2022, KRW -12.6 billion in 2023, KRW -6.9 billion in 2024, and KRW -12.0 billion in 2025, showing no clear sign of recovery.

On a quarterly basis, revenue of KRW 3.9 billion and an operating loss of KRW 2.1 billion in 2025Q1 gave way to a modest increase to KRW 4.3 billion in Q2, before a sharp drop to KRW 2.6 billion in Q3, when the operating loss widened to KRW 1.7 billion and the net loss reached KRW 4.8 billion, the largest quarterly loss in the period.

Revenue partially recovered to KRW 3.8 billion in Q4, though the operating loss stayed around KRW 1.5 billion and the net loss around KRW 3.0 billion.

In 2026Q1 (provisional), revenue was KRW 2.8 billion with an operating loss of KRW 1.4 billion, still at a contracted scale, but the net loss narrowed markedly to KRW 0.4 billion compared with prior quarters, suggesting a possible easing of one-off cost items.

Over the trailing four quarters (2025Q2 through 2026Q1), the cumulative owners-of-parent net loss totaled roughly KRW 9.6 billion, indicating the company remains in a loss-making position on an annualized basis as well.

Cash flow has also been a burden, with operating cash flow deteriorating from KRW -0.2 billion in 2022 to KRW -5.7 billion in 2025, indicating an accelerating pace of cash consumption.

The domestic data and AI consulting industry has benefited from amendments to Korea's three Data Acts, which enabled the use of pseudonymized information and raised expectations for big data market activation.

As public data quality diagnostic and evaluation systems become more sophisticated, systematic responses are increasingly important, but small local governments and public institutions lacking dedicated IT personnel often struggle to respond on their own, creating demand for related solutions.

However, B2En's recent performance shows revenue declining sharply due to reduced project orders and cutbacks in client investment, illustrating how sensitive its results are to public and private sector IT investment budget cycles.

Meanwhile, in the global crypto payment market, Binance Pay has been growing rapidly, reportedly used by more than 45 million people worldwide with cumulative payment volume of around USD 250 billion.

In Korea, stablecoin-related regulation remains at an early stage of development, with whether won-based stablecoins receive institutional approval seen as a key variable for future market formation.

Peers frequently grouped together in the cloud/security theme include XGate, Dream Security, Genians, and Raon Secure, which often move in tandem with sector-wide sentiment swings.

In February 2026, B2En signed a platform development agreement with Binance for the domestic marketing system behind Binance Pay, taking on the role of connecting merchants and building payment systems using AI and big data.

The company stated it plans to first build a dollar-based stablecoin payment environment targeting foreign tourists, then expand step by step to services for domestic users once won-based stablecoins receive institutional approval.

The company also said it is exploring an expansion into a data-driven commercial model that analyzes data accumulated during the payment process to provide insights on merchant traffic flows and consumer patterns.

In August 2026, the largest shareholder changed to Strategy No.1 Partnership with funding support from Double Media, completing the equity transactions related to the change in control; the company stated that under its new independent management structure it plans to strengthen its existing data and AI business while exploring new business areas combining platform/content with data and AI.

However, the timing and scale at which these new ventures will translate into actual revenue have not yet been detailed in disclosures, and recovery in order intake for the core data consulting business remains a key variable.

Given that governance has changed hands multiple times within a short period, management's execution capability on business strategy and the stability of future funding will likely be critical to any earnings improvement.