– A survey of 800 entrepreneurs, startup employees, large company employees, and job seekers.
-The outlook for the future is gradually improving… Thanks to the strengthened support from the government and private sector even in difficult circumstances.
Despite the overall stagnation in the startup ecosystem, a growing number of people are optimistic about the future outlook. A gradual shift in perception is observed not only among entrepreneurs and employees within the startup ecosystem, but also among employees at large corporations and job seekers.
Startup support group Startup Alliance released the 'Startup Trend Report 2025', which is an analysis of a survey of 800 entrepreneurs, startup employees, employees of large companies, and job seekers, conducted at Front One in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 18th.
The "Startup Trend Report," a survey jointly conducted by Startup Alliance and Open Survey since 2014, is now in its 12th year. In addition to the same questions that apply every year, the survey includes additional items reflecting the latest startup trends, policy changes, and special issues of the year. This year's report notably included a special survey on the new administration's startup policies.
According to the "Startup Trend Report," entrepreneurs rated the overall startup ecosystem climate this year at 54.5 points, marking a second consecutive year of growth. The significant increase in positive changes reflected in the indicators appears to be due to a number of factors, including: strong government and public sector initiatives; increased proactive support from the private sector; and shifting social perceptions.
The top choices for startup founders in each field are ▲Bluepoint: a private accelerator (AC), ▲Altos Ventures: a venture capital (VC), ▲Kakao Ventures: a corporate venture capital (CVC), and ▲Google Startup Campus: a preferred startup support center. According to the founders' survey, the private company most actively supporting startups is Naver, while the public institution is the Korea Institute for Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED).
Survey respondents expressed a positive outlook for the future of the startup ecosystem, with 35.5% saying it would change positively, and 7% saying it would change very positively, for a total of 42.5%. This represents an increase of more than 25% from the previous year. Those who responded positively cited strengthened government policy support as the primary reason for their optimism. However, the responses of those who responded negatively reveal the coexistence of concerns, including the possibility of an economic crisis/worsening economic conditions, a global economic slowdown, and concentrated investment.
The "Government Role Evaluation" for revitalizing the startup ecosystem scored 60.6 points, up six points from 54.6 points the previous year. Survey respondents ranked the top three areas they hope the government would improve: securing ecosystem-based funding and stimulating investment, easing various regulations, and supporting mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs). Government regulations in need of relaxation were primarily cited as simplification of administrative procedures, financial regulations, and deregulation of startups.
Among survey respondents, founders and startup employees tended to have a more positive assessment of the startup investment market in 2025 than startup employees. 14% of founders and 6.5% of startup employees responded that the startup investment market has grown significantly.
A notable point in this year's "Startup Trend Report 2025" is the increase in the number of respondents who identified startups as having an innovative/creative image when asked about their overall perception of startups. The "fastest-growing startups" cited were Toss, Carrot, and Kurly. The startups whose work styles people want to know about were Toss, Carrot, and Coupang.
In particular, in the 'Startups that want to know how they work' section, AI companies such as Rutton and Furiosa appeared, which showed that respondents are keeping an eye on which companies they are looking at amidst the huge changes that AI will bring about, and that they want to strengthen their own capabilities by referring to the work processes of AI companies.
A panel discussion followed that day. Panelists included: Shim Jae-yoon, Director of the Startup Policy Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; Jeong In-hye, Team Leader at Altos Ventures; Hwang Jo-eun, Public Relations Director at Gangnam Unni; and Kim Chi-won, Vice President of Kakao Ventures.
The panel continued the discussion by sharing their experiences overcoming crises that could be helpful to startup founders and employees.
Director Hwang Jo-eun of Gangnam Unnie shared her experience overcoming difficult company situations by cutting costs, even by very small amounts, and advised, “If you make multifaceted efforts to prepare for uncertainty and develop a sense of analyzing crises from various angles to see them as opportunities, you can develop resilient crisis response capabilities.”
Team Leader Jeong In-hye of Altos Ventures mentioned the impact of the past Silicon Bank bankruptcy issue on Altos Ventures and the measures implemented to relieve the anxiety of employees and prevent organizational unrest, saying, “If members unite and overcome a crisis, the organization can become stronger and more resilient.”
Shim Jae-yoon, a director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, recently said, "I've been receiving a lot of questions about whether the number of startups is decreasing." He added, "While startups and small business owners are mixed in the statistics, I believe the overall assessment of technology startups, when viewed separately, is satisfactory." He added that he is giving considerable thought to how to help strengthen the capabilities of startups.
Lee Ki-dae, director of the Startup Alliance Center, who moderated the event, said, "While macroeconomic anxiety persists, government and private sector efforts are increasing the positive perception of the ecosystem." However, he noted, "The fact that job satisfaction among startup employees has plummeted to 35%, the lowest level since the survey began, half the level seen among large corporations, is a serious problem."
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