On the 18th , the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced a plan to expand TIPS R&D through private investment at the 2nd Science and Technology Ministerial Meeting. This plan primarily focuses on expanding the results of the TIPS program, a private-sector-led technology innovation program, to various technologies and industries and restructuring the support system to foster regional innovation.
TIPS has operated by linking private investment firms' upfront investments in innovative companies with government R&D funding. Since its introduction in 2013, the program has provided approximately KRW 2.2 trillion in government R&D funding to approximately 5,000 innovative companies, attracting KRW 21.3 trillion in private investment. This program has resulted in 48 initial public offerings and 96 mergers and acquisitions.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will first simplify the structure by integrating the startup-stage TIPS track and then establish a full-cycle support system from startup to global expansion by newly establishing Scale-up TIPS and Global TIPS. Accordingly, the TIPS R&D support will be expanded to up to KRW 800 million, Scale-up TIPS up to KRW 3 billion, and Global TIPS up to KRW 6 billion. Deep Tech Challenge Projects, which address challenging technologies, will receive up to KRW 5 billion per project, while ecosystem innovation projects involving multiple companies will receive up to KRW 20 billion.
Furthermore, the government will expand its matching investment program for commercialization, where it invests on the same terms as private sector follow-up investments, to all stages before TIPS. We will also strengthen the promotion of private investment through integrated investment briefings and connections with global investors. We will also significantly expand the number of operating companies, operating both general operating companies centered on investors and specialized operating companies in consortiums to support the development of projects up to the scale-up stage.
Building on inter-ministerial cooperation, we will identify promising companies in strategic sectors such as AI, bio, content and culture, defense, energy, and advanced manufacturing. We will also increase preferential treatment for local companies to foster regional innovation. Furthermore, to revitalize local venture investment, we will gradually expand dedicated regional funds and pursue related institutional improvements.
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