40 Under 40 2025: Kitae Lim, Team Cookie

Kitae Lim

Co-founder and CSO
Team Cookie
South Korea

When Kitae Lim co-founded Team Cookie in 2023, it was just him and one other person working out of a small office. Two and a half years later, the consultancy has grown into a 15-member team and serves more than 30 fast-scaling tech startups with integrated PR, branding, and go-to-market support. Lim built a multidisciplinary team with expertise spanning journalism, public affairs, branding and technology. Team Cookie is now positioned as a one-stop partner for startups looking to scale in Korea and beyond.

This growth has been swift and measurable. Revenue has more than doubled from 2023 to 2024, and is projected to rise another 34% to US$1.23 million in 2025—a 167% increase over three years—driven by strong client retention, government tech conferences, and go-to-market support for global startups. 

Lim’s influence extends beyond financial metrics. In 2025, he became the youngest-ever vice president of the International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Ethics (IAAE), leading the AI Safety Compass conference to advocate for ethical AI development. His work has contributed to public discourse on AI transparency, safety and inclusion and fed into Korea’s AI Basic Act. As a board member of the Korean Association of PR Professionals, he helps develop the market’s PR certification framework and trains new practitioners, reflecting his commitment to industry sustainability and professional development.

Lim’s approach to startup growth blends strategy, storytelling and ethical oversight. He has helped clients collectively raise a massive amount and attract top-tier talent, while campaigns for companies such as VESSL AI have generated media recognition and tangible business outcomes. Beyond individual clients, he works to shape ecosystem-level visibility, aligning public narrative, policy thinking and business impact.

Being named to Campaign Asia-Pacific’s 2025 40 Under 40 is as much a nod to Lim’s impact on people and communities as it is to the startups he’s helped grow.