Semiconductor Thermal-Control Startup Cools Selected for IBK Chang-gong Startup Programme

Cools (쿨스), a deep-tech startup working on semiconductor bonding, heat dissipation and interface thermal control, said on July 20 that it had been selected for the 15th cohort of innovative startups at the Busan centre of IBK Chang-gong, the startup incubation platform run by the Industrial Bank of Korea. The company is led by chief executive Cho Jin-hyun.

Founded in 2026, Cools is a semiconductor thermal-control company headquartered in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Cho holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Seoul National University and a doctorate in heat transfer engineering from the University of Michigan. He spent 28 years in charge of thermal management at Samsung Electronics' Visual Display division, where he held the senior technical rank of Technology Master.

The company's main technology is the Thermal Clutch, used in the manufacturing process for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a core component of AI semiconductors. The Thermal Clutch changes the cooling method of HBM bonding equipment from air jets, which rely on convection, to direct solid contact, which relies on conduction. According to the company, this cuts cooling time per bond from about 4 seconds to 0.5 seconds, one-eighth of the previous level, and raises the productivity of bonding equipment by up to three times. Cools also says the technology reduces cumulative heat exposure at the lowest bonding layer — which is reheated repeatedly as more dies are stacked — by about 85 percent, which it says can help address yield and reliability problems in HBM with high stack counts.

"We are stacking the world's most precise semiconductors, and yet the way we cool them is still at the level of blowing air," Cho said. "We will move faster on validating the Thermal Clutch in industrial settings and on expanding global partnerships."

Cools builds its business on core technology in semiconductor bonding, heat dissipation and interface thermal control, operating in IP licensing, module and component supply, and equipment and process solutions. Along with the 15th cohort at the IBK Chang-gong Busan centre, the company is also taking part in the fifth Busan cohort of KDB NextONE, the Korea Development Bank's startup support programme.