[비즈한국] ‘Phi Institute of Design’ (Phi Design School), a design education company founded by Toss (operator Viva Republica), has begun its first regular education program by recruiting a large number of renowned experts in branding, typography, and product design as instructors. As Toss expands its design education business, attention is also turning to its broader non-financial business growth.
The ‘Phi Design School,’ a design education institution operated by Toss, is opening its first regular classes. The one-year program, starting on August 24, consists of a curriculum spanning two semesters and over 1,000 hours. It will operate on a full-time basis from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays (Monday–Friday) and will recruit a total of 60 students. The application deadline is August 6.
It has been confirmed that a large number of experts known in the branding, design, and typography industries will participate in the first regular classes. Instructors include Gil Hyung-jin, CEO of Orion Cactus and developer of the open-source font ‘Pretendard’; Shim Woo-jin, former president of the Korea Society of Typography; Seo Jung-min, co-founder of Ordinary People; Kim Young-jun, a design director formerly with the 29CM product design team; Park Jong-min, CEO of Design Compass; producer Choi Sung-woon, operator of the YouTube channel ‘Choi Sung-woon’s Thought Experiments’; and author An Dam.
The curriculum consists of core classes taught by experts, autonomous study groups for students, workshops aimed at improving learning abilities outside of the main courses during the semester, and intermediate events such as orientations and closing parties. The core subjects cover various fields including digital product design, branding, AI, and writing, such as ‘Deep-dive Problem Solving,’ ‘Interface Design,’ ‘Visual Translation,’ ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Productive Friction,’ and ‘The Art of Reading.’
Kim Ji-hong, CEO of Phi Institute of Design and a former UX designer at Samsung Electronics, explained, “When you repeat the experience of struggling and rebuilding yourself over the long span of one year, it changes your mindset, not just your tools. Our goal is to help students grow into designers who can create their own answers in any environment.”
Phi Design School was established by Toss with the goal of strengthening the professionalism of the domestic design industry and contributing to the design ecosystem. The background behind a finance-focused company like Toss creating a design education institution lies in its experience of successfully entering the financial market through an app that utilized user-friendly UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience). For instance, Toss Securities’ simple and intuitive Mobile Trading System (MTS) influenced the entire industry, and thanks to the popularity of its MTS, Toss Securities succeeded in quickly gathering users despite being a latecomer in the securities industry.
Toss plans to hire graduates of Phi Design School as its own design staff. Students who complete the one-year program at Phi Design School can apply for a separate recruitment process at Toss. Exceptional graduates will be provided with special benefits upon hiring.
Industry interest in Phi Design School also appears to be high. The recruitment for the first pre-course in the first half of this year closed in just two days, and it is reported that 1,200 people were on the waiting list for the 120 total spots available across the first and second classes (60 students each). Toss explained that the school’s key differentiator from existing educational institutions is its focus on ‘intentional failure,’ where students are encouraged to complete tasks before learning the underlying theory.
Toss attracted attention during the establishment of its subsidiary, Phi Institute of Design, and the launch of the design school by not revealing the Toss brand or company name. While Toss did not state that the purpose of establishing the education company was profitability, it is expected to generate a certain level of revenue once the business gains momentum, given that tuition fees amount to several million won. Founded in October 2025 with capital of 700 million won, Phi Institute of Design recorded a net loss of 360 million won as of the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, Toss has recently been focusing on growing its non-financial subsidiaries. One area with steep growth is its affiliate, Toss Place, which conducts the payment terminal business. Toss Place’s 2025 revenue was 54.3 billion won, more than double the previous year (23.4 billion won). However, as it accelerates the deployment of its proprietary terminal, ‘Toss Front,’ and the acquisition of merchant stores to build offline payment infrastructure, operating expenses surged from 71.8 billion won in 2024 to 125.6 billion won in 2025, and operating losses widened from 48.5 billion won to 71.3 billion won.
The release of a separate restaurant information app called ‘Spotlist’ last May also draws attention. Spotlist is an app that creates and provides rankings for local restaurants based on Toss’s payment data. It appears that by entering the offline payment business, Toss created the platform to utilize merchant data and secure users. Toss did not reveal its own logo or branding on the Spotlist app, either.