Photo Credit: Supertone
Hybe is liquidating artificial intelligence startup Supertone after a disastrous $32 million acquisition just a few short years ago.
Hybe is liquidating Supertone, the artificial intelligence audio specialist it initially saw as a future growth engine. The South Korean entertainment giant concluded that keeping it afloat would be little more than a money sink just three years after the acquisition. The decision ends a short but notably expensive chapter in Hybe’s ongoing efforts to expand beyond artist management and music production.
Supertone approved its dissolution at a general meeting on July 15. A liquidator has been appointed and formal closure proceedings have since kicked off. Hybe is seeking buyers for selected services, including the voice-modulation and noise-removal products Shift, Clear, and Air, while other parts of the company are expected to be phased out.
“This was determined as part of an AI business strategy realignment,” Hybe stated. “We reviewed various options regarding the possibility of maintaining the corporate entity, but concluded that continued operations would be difficult and decided on liquidation.”
The relationship between the two entities began in 2021, when Hybe invested 4 billion won (~$2.7 million) for an 18.2% stake. Two years later, Hybe had injected approximately 49 billion won (~$33.4 million), which provided the company with a 56.56% majority stake.
Founded in 2020, Supertone developed technology capable of producing and transforming voices by combining different elements of human speech. Its products included a voice-conversion tool, Supertone Shift; and a spatial-audio service, Supertone Air.
Since its inception, Supertone launched the virtual girl group Syndi8, supported concert production for K-pop group Tomorrow X Together, and supplied voice-conversion tech for the likes of Netflix and Disney. While these projects demonstrated Supertone’s technical acumen, they didn’t produce the financial turnaround Hybe anticipated.
It’s not the first time Hybe has taken a bath on an acquisition that didn’t pan out. Hybe America, which oversees the Scooter Braun-founded Ithaca Holdings, posted revenue of about 312.9 billion won ($213.4 million) last year, up 30% year-over-year. However, its net loss surged from approximately 140 billion won ($95.5 million) to a staggering 323.1 billion won ($220.4 million).
Impairment losses from Hybe America alone reached approximately 279.6 billion won ($190.7 million) by the end of last year, accounting for most of the company’s investment equity impairment losses recorded in 2025.