Agentic AI advancement driven by ontology technology

Tacit knowledge turned into data assets to expand AI across industrial sites

A Posco DX AI agent developer reviews data relationships analyzed by ontology technology. [Provided by Posco DX]
A Posco DX AI agent developer reviews data relationships analyzed by ontology technology. [Provided by Posco DX]

Posco DX is developing AI agents capable of learning employees' accumulated know-how and carrying out real workplace tasks. The company plans to invest 2 billion won ($1.49 million) in AI startup Inhance to expand AI technology across industrial sites.

Posco DX announced Monday that it had invested 2 billion won in Inhance through the Posco DX CVC New Technology Investment Association, a fund established jointly with Posco Technology Investment, and signed an MOU to build task-execution-specialized AI agents. Inhance is a startup that developed AgentOS, an ontology-based enterprise AI operating system.

Posco DX identified a key obstacle companies face when pursuing AI transformation: data scattered across systems makes it difficult for AI to grasp the context of business operations. Ontology technology addresses this by structuring data around business meaning and relationships, helping AI understand workflows as a whole. A key strength of the approach is its ability to convert tacit knowledge — such as the experience of skilled workers, how they handle exceptional situations, and the criteria behind their judgments — into data assets.

Inhance is an enterprise agentic AI company that connects corporate data and business context through ontology and supports AI agents in executing tasks. Ahead of this partnership, the Posco Group had already applied Inhance's AgentOS to office operations within the group, and has been developing AI agents for financial profitability analysis to assess their practical applicability.

Posco DX AI agent developers hold a meeting using AgentOS, an ontology-based AI operating system. [Provided by Posco DX]
Posco DX AI agent developers hold a meeting using AgentOS, an ontology-based AI operating system. [Provided by Posco DX]

The two companies plan to extend the ontology-based agentic AI technology validated in office settings to broader industrial environments, including production, facilities and logistics. Posco DX aims to combine its domain-specific business experience with Inhance's AgentOS to develop industry-tailored AI solutions for sectors such as steel and logistics.

"Securing ontology-based agentic AI capabilities that understand both operational knowledge and tacit know-how will serve as a catalyst accelerating companies' AI transformation competitiveness," a Posco DX official said. "We will combine Inhance's technological strengths with Posco DX's industrial domain capabilities to create new customer value."

Meanwhile, the Posco Group has been expanding its CVC funds — tailored to individual business units — to identify future growth engines through venture investment. Through this initiative, Posco DX this year pursued investments in an industrial humanoid robot company and a domestic AI semiconductor startup.


chami@heraldcorp.com