Jul 8, 2022

Seoul arranges networking among big companies and 70 startups to back their scale-up 2022.07.08 14:11:01 | 2022.07.08 14:25:25 Receiver [Source: KISED] As many as 70 startups met up with large companies and government to scale up under their guidance and backing. The Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) on Wednesday sponsored “Entrepreneurship Scale-up Package Scheme with Large Corporations.” The event, which was held at TIPS Town in Seoul, was attended by CEOs, executives, and employees from 70 startups, representatives of five large corporations – KB Financial Group, KT, CJ, Naver Cloud, and SK Innovation - and officials from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KISED. The 70 startups that have been in business for two to three years were carefully selected to collaborate with large corporations. “Through this event, I hope that large corporations and startups will be able to build stronger connections for future collaborations,” said Kim Yong-moon, president of KISED. KISED will continue to encourage and support collaborations between startups and large corporations that seek open innovation, he added. The event consisted of presentations about the future collaboration plans of the five business groups, accomplishments of last year’s participating startups, the goals of this year’s selected startups, and a networking session. [Source: KISED] The presentations by the large corporations’ representatives were especially notable for their detailed plans in areas such as KB’s fintech and property tech, KT’s 5G, Naver Cloud’s SaaS platform, CJ’s food, bio, logistics, and lifestyle, and SK innovation’s eco-friendly ventures. “Our goal is to combine Uniquegood’s interactive immersive experience technology with KB’s financial service to create a platform for millennials and Gen Zs,” said Lee Eun-young, CEO of Uniquegood Company, an interactive game startup and one of the startups that were selected this year. According to Lee Ja-ryong, CEO of AI-based voice synthesis solution startup Humelo and another startup that was selected this year, the event offered insight into various areas and understanding of KT employment of Humelo. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KISED started "Entrepreneurship Scale-up Package Scheme with Large Companies" in 2021. Soft Berry, one of the selected startups from last year, is currently developing electric car battery test services with SK innovation’s SK on after the two signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Step Pay has been listed on Naver Cloud Platform’s online marketplace while CMES was about to improve its video AI algorithm through Proof of Concept (PoC) - an early-stage version of a product to test its feasibility - on CJ’s funding. The selected 70 startups will each receive up to 300 million won and participate in special programs from the government as well as startup programs with large companies for 10 months. By Susan Lee FRI