South Korea’s dominant mobile finance platform Toss is diving into Web3 and AI data markets for the first time. On June 26, the company announced a partnership with Poseidon, a blockchain-based decentralized AI data infrastructure firm, to launch a user-participation data collection mini app.
The app, called NUMO, will be integrated directly into the Toss ecosystem. Toss’s 30 million users can opt in to contribute voice recordings, images, and video clips from their daily lives. In return, they receive transparent compensation based on how valuable their data is for training AI models – especially physical AI systems like robots and autonomous driving vehicles. The company said it will use Poseidon’s proprietary blockchain to track data provenance and contribution value without tampering. Toss will handle settlement.
“The growth of the AI industry is rapidly increasing demand for high-quality data,” said Seo Chang-hoon, Toss’s executive director for new business. He added that the goal is to let users participate in the data economy “easily and naturally while being compensated transparently for the value they contribute.”
Poseidon supplies real-world data with verified copyright status to frontier AI labs. The firm raised a $15 million seed round from Andreessen Horowitz last year. Its chief strategy officer and chairman, Lee Seung-yoon, said South Korea is an ideal market because it combines strategic importance of AI data, mature digital financial infrastructure, and world-class mobile user experience. After validating the model locally, Poseidon aims to scale it globally. Lee is a serial entrepreneur who founded web novel platform Radish (sold to Kakao Entertainment) and co-founded Story, the IP blockchain project now called the DATA Foundation. He was named a 2026 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Toss recently declared the start of its “Currency 3.0” era. Beyond the NUMO app, the company said it will consider phased links with crypto wallets, stablecoins, and payment networks. That suggests Toss sees the partnership as a step toward integrating Web3 infrastructure directly into its massive user base.
For crypto traders, the deal indicates growing appetite among mainstream fintech giants for tokenized data markets. Poseidon’s blockchain approach – tracking contribution value on-chain – could become a template if the Korean pilot gains traction. The next watch item: whether Toss integrates a crypto wallet or stablecoin settlement layer, which would open the door for token-based rewards tied to NUMO data contributions.
South Korea’s Toss teams with Poseidon to launch AI data app rewarding 30M users
Toss partnered with blockchain firm Poseidon to create NUMO, an app letting 30 million Toss users share daily voice and image data. Users receive clear payment for helping develop AI technology, introducing them to a new way of earning from their personal data.