"The problem is not the technology. We must first understand what the market wants."
This was the opening remark made by an executive of a venture company when we met recently to formulate a global commercialization strategy for national R&D (research and development) projects. He added, "If you develop technology aligned with what customers want, it will succeed." Though brief, this statement prompted me, who has long studied the intersection of public interest and market entry, to reconsider the conditions under which technology succeeds in the marketplace.
Why does some technology transform markets while other technologies never leave the laboratory? Through numerous encounters with companies over time, I have closely observed cases where superior technology failed to shine in the market, as well as instances where small ideas spread globally. From these experiences, one fact has become clear: most technologies fail not due to insufficient technical capability, but because they lack a properly designed path to success. South Korea excels at creating technology, yet the market does not move based solely on technological excellence.
Thus, we still stand before the same challenge. The answer is surprisingly simple. We are accustomed to developing technology, but not to designing its journey to success. The market operates on entirely different logic than the laboratory: customers prioritize problem-solving over technical superiority, and investors focus more on market potential and growth prospects than on patents. Ultimately, the market chooses technology that best understands customers over the most advanced technology.
The moment this distinction is overlooked, even superior technology can fail in the marketplace. Examining failed technologies reveals a common pattern: many research projects only consider commercialization after development is complete. Market analysis begins post-research, and customer validation and marketing occur after product development. In many cases, by the time the technology is finalized, the market has already shifted. The so-called "Valley of Death" does not exist between technology and the market; rather, it stems from a mindset that treats research and the market as separate processes.
An approach that develops technology alongside the market aligns with strategies pursued by innovation-focused institutional investors such as the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Germany's Fraunhofer Society. Recent deep-tech research also argues that from the earliest stages of R&D, customer demand verification, market validation, investment, intellectual property management, and regulatory response must be designed simultaneously. As technological competition intensifies, the distinctiveness of technology itself diminishes rapidly, shifting the core of competition toward agile and flexible decision-making capabilities in designing strategies related to customers, markets, investors, and regulations.
Generative AI is accelerating this transformation further. While technologies are quickly developed and imitated, the complex capability to interpret markets, understand customers, and determine collaboration partners cannot be easily replicated. Ultimately, what determines competitiveness is the ability to translate such judgments into market success. The venture company mentioned earlier is reanalyzing market demands regarding price, quality, certification, and other factors, then simultaneously designing technology development, marketing, and commercialization strategies based on these insights. The true value of AI lies not in creating technology, but in becoming a technology commercialization partner that supports such judgment and design processes.
AI is no longer confined to being a productivity tool for drafting documents or analyzing data. In the future, AI will evolve into a technology commercialization partner capable of predicting the market viability of research outcomes and proposing suitable customers, companies, and investment strategies. This is not an AI that develops technology on behalf of humans, but rather a decision-support AI that leverages accumulated expertise and judgment across diverse pathways. A tool that supports the process of designing success — this is the essence of AI in supporting technology commercialization in the AI era.
Why does some technology transform markets while other technologies remain confined to laboratories? Ultimately, the difference lies beyond technology itself: it resides in the ability to understand customers and design complex pathways to success. Future competitiveness will be forged by companies that most effectively leverage AI to connect technology to market success at the earliest stage.
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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