APEX Corporation (FT)
 | |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
|---|---|
| Founded | 85 |
| Founder | Im Myung-Ki Joe Jin Khalil Lee Jae-Sung |
| Headquarters | APEX Island, Freiport Republic, Cheongsu |
Area served | Human Sphere |
Key people | Im Jin-Yeong (CEO) Edgar von Sturmfahrt (President) Anastasia Beifong (COO) |
| Products | Consumer and home goods, vehicles, chemicals, electronics, quantronics, industrial equipment, computers, ships, weapons, communications equipment, robots, etc. |
| Services | Advertising, construction, entertainment, financial services, hospitality, information and communications technology, medical and health care services, retail, shipbuilding, private military, security |
| Owner | Im Family |
The APEX Corporation is a multinational megacorporation, operating across the Human Sphere. As one of the 10 largest private corporations in the Sphere, APEX is a member of the G10. Owned and heavily controlled by the Im Family, it is also the largest family-owned businesses outside of the Empire. The company's corporate headquarters are on APEX Island, part of the Freiport Republic on Cheongsu.
Founded in 85 BT by Im Myung-Ki, Joe Jin, and Khalil Lee as Apex Handhelds, the company started out as a very small handheld repair shop in Dongmakgol City, Pyeonghwa, New Mansan. Apex Handhelds would only become notable after Jin and Lee developed the Folded Sphere Storage Protocol (FSSP) in Jin's living room. FSSP enabled the further miniaturization of solid-state digital memory drives, allowing Apex Handhelds to suddenly become extremely wealthy overnight by licensing the rights to the FSSP patent to megacorporations. Apex Handhelds was the first to develop the modern suTab in 98 BT.
However, over the years there was a falling out between the founders, and by 110 BT Im Myung-Ki had full ownership of the company. Despite no longer being a partner, Joe Jin remained the face of the company until his sudden death in 122 from Cyber Sclerosis. Joe's son, Jon Jin, became the new company spokesman. Following Jin's death, Im expanded the corporation beyond electronics, expanding the business into a family-owned megaconglomerate similar to the Imperial Zaibatsu.
The core of the APEX group remains APEX Computers. Other notable APEX industrial affiliates include APEX Heavy Industries, APEX Armament Solutions, APEX Diversified Construction Services, APEX Aerospace Engineering, and APEX Security Force, which is the second-largest private military force in the Southern Sphere. APEX also funds charitable organisations, such as the Joe Jin Foundation, which was established by John Jin to provide charitable free treatment for all sufferers of cyber-sclerosis.
History
The APEX Corporation originated with Apex Handhelds, a handheld repair shop in Dongmakgol, Pyeonghwa, New Mansan. The shop was opened in 85 BT by Josef "Joe" Jin Tae-Se, Li Jae-Sung, and Im Myung-Ki. Joe Jin was a college dropout who was discontented with conventional schooling, while Li and Im completed their bachelor's degrees; Li had a degree in quantum computing and Im had a degree in business. In the early days, Im focused on the business side of things while Jin and Li handled the actual repairs; after more part-timers were hired, Jin and Li began focusing on their own computer science experiments. These experiments would bear fruit in 94 BT, when Jin and Li developed the Folded Sphere Storage Protocol (FSSP) in Jin's living room.
FSSP enabled the further miniaturisation of solid-state digital memory drives. While Jin and Li wanted to make the new technique open source, Im convinced them to sell it to major corporations instead. This marked the beginning of a schism between Im and Li, the latter of whom was a firm believer in technological freedom. By selling FSSP to larger tech companies, Apex Handhelds became extremely wealthy overnight. Im formed the APEX Corporation to oversee external investments, while Jin and Li focused on expanding Apex Handhelds into its own tech company. In 98 BT, Apex Handhelds developed a new generation of suTabs centred on proprietary FSSP technology.
business graduate Im Myung-Ki and his neighbours, Jin "Joe" Tae-Se and Khalil Lee Jae-Sung, who were both computer science undergraduates.
However, over the years there was a falling out between the founders, and by 110 BT Im Myung-Ki had full ownership of the company. Despite no longer being a partner, Joe Jin remained the face of the company until his sudden death in 122 from Cyber Sclerosis. Joe's son, Jon Jin, became the new company spokesman. Following Jin's death, Im expanded the corporation beyond electronics, expanding the business into a family-owned megaconglomerate similar to the Imperial Zaibatsu.
In 306, APEX Computers and APEX Armament Solutions developed a new type of infantry combat drone modeled after a miniature version of the Gojira species that lives on the Imperial capital planet Eienkyo. Despite impressive combat capabilities, the high unit cost of the drones prevented the Federation Defence Force from purchasing them. It is rumoured that some private owners have purchased individual models for personal security purposes.
Subsidiaries
APEX Defence Contracting
APEX Defence Contracting, commonly referred to as APEX DefCon or APEX Peacekeeping, is the largest private military corporation in the Southern Sphere, with over 26 million personnel. Prior to a corporate rebranding in 226, APEX DefCon was known as APEX Peacekeeping, and before that was known as ApexAID. Within the private military industry, APEX DefCon has a major rivalry with their closest competitors, Matanza and Arakawa Security.
ApexAID was founded as a humanitarian aid organisation under the APEX brand in 140.