The Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Chairman Kim Jong-ho, hereinafter referred to as KIBO) announced that it held the ‘Baby/Prospective Unicorn Performance Sharing Meeting and IR Event’ at KINTEX in Goyang City on Wednesday the 26th.
This event, held as part of the '1st Venture Week,' was promoted to share the major achievements of Kibo's 'Baby and Potential Unicorn Development Program' and to provide a venue for promising innovative companies to publicize their future vision and competitiveness, thereby promoting follow-up private investment.
The "Baby Unicorn Development Project" identifies early-stage startups with innovative business models and proven growth potential and helps them grow into potential unicorns with a corporate value of over KRW 100 billion. The program provides up to KRW 300 million in market development funding and up to KRW 5 billion in special guarantees. Through this program, KIBO has nurtured a total of 350 companies since 2020, of which 18 have become potential unicorns and nine have gone on to be listed on the KOSDAQ.
The "Pre-Unicorn Special Guarantee Program" provides special guarantees of up to 20 billion won to innovative companies with a corporate value of between 100 billion won and 1 trillion won, supporting their growth into unicorns. Since 2019, KIBO has supported 141 companies, of which eight have achieved unicorn status and 18 have gone on to be listed on the KOSDAQ.
The event was a great success, with approximately 100 people in attendance, including companies participating in the incubation program, investors, and officials from related organizations. The event included a presentation on the support system, a performance presentation session, and an IR pitching program.
The performance presentation session featured three companies: ▲Colosseum Corporation, selected as a prospective unicorn in 2025; ▲Excel Therapeutics, selected as a prospective unicorn in 2021 and listed on KOSDAQ; and ▲VSPharmtech, selected as a baby unicorn in 2023 and attracting 4 billion won in investment, introducing their growth processes and achievements.
At the subsequent IR event, companies such as First Biotherapeutics, a 2024 unicorn candidate, and Dimebio and Mister Milk, a 2025 baby unicorn, presented IR pitches focusing on their technologies and business models. Active networking between private investors and participating companies also took place on-site.
Kim Jong-ho, CEO of Kibo, said, “The Global Unicorn Project has established itself as a representative scale-up program that has attracted numerous follow-up investments and driven global expansion,” and added, “Kibo will continue to strengthen its support for baby and potential unicorn companies and contribute to the realization of Korea as one of the top four global venture powerhouses.”
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