The Daejeon Creative Economy Innovation Center (CEO Daehee Park, hereinafter referred to as the Daejeon Innovation Center) announced that it has completed direct investments totaling 1.72 billion won in 12 deep-tech innovation startups over the course of 2025, thereby driving the full-scale growth of the local early-stage startup ecosystem.
In 2025, the Daejeon Innovation Center established five new investment funds, including the 'Daejeon-Trust Innovation Challenge Investment Fund' and the 'Daejeon-People Deep Tech Startup Fund No. 1,' and focused on investing in science and technology-focused startups, strengthening its position as a 'deep tech startup incubation hub.'
This year, the core of our investment portfolio was to focus on deep tech. Beyond simple financial support, we also sought to secure additional funding through TIPS, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' private investment-led technology startup support program.
As for investment performance, ▲Superrun and ▲ART each secured KRW 100 million in commercialization funding through the Pre-TIPS program, while ▲Moisten and ▲Miracles received up to KRW 800 million in R&D funding through TIPS. Notably, ▲EMCity secured up to KRW 1.5 billion through the Global TIPS program, marking the start of its global expansion. These companies have been recognized for their technological prowess and growth potential through the "Investment-Incubation-TIPS" support program.
The Daejeon Innovation Center, in collaboration with local TIPS operators, operates a full-cycle investment platform, from early-stage startup discovery to securing follow-up investment. This year, it supported the subsequent rounds of investment for five companies: Zero One, Blue Device, Linsol, EM City, and Ad.
In 2026, we plan to enhance our step-by-step customized IR, one-on-one coaching, and investment linkage programs, and establish a foundation for sustainable growth in a regionally driven investment ecosystem by establishing additional deep tech funds and expanding direct investment. We will also pursue our leap forward as a scale-up hub encompassing global expansion and exits.
Park Dae-hee, CEO of the Daejeon Innovation Center, said, “2025 will be a year in which we will serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the early-stage startup ecosystem through direct investment, fund management, and TIPS linkage.” He added, “In 2026, we will strengthen our comprehensive support so that more promising deep-tech startups can grow into global unicorn companies based in Daejeon.”
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