The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that it held the ‘Regulatory Free Zone Investment Attraction Demo Day’ at The White Veil in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 29th.
This event was held to provide private investment opportunities to special zone operators and promote commercialization so that regulatory-free special zones can drive regional growth by commercializing new technologies created through verification after regulatory improvement, rather than simply improving regulations through verification.
This event was attended by 9 special zone operators from 4 regulatory-free special zones and 2 global innovation special zones. The participating operators conducted IR pitching and Q&A sessions for VCs for about 10 minutes, and an evaluation panel comprised of investors evaluated the pitching of the operators and selected excellent companies.
HBOT Medical Co., Ltd. of Gangwon AI Healthcare Global Innovation Special Zone, which has been expanding its business targeting the global market by developing a hyperbaric oxygen chamber with reasonable price, convenient installation, and low noise, has won the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award.
Following this, Surimtech Co., Ltd. of the Gangwon Liquefied Hydrogen Industry Regulatory Free Special Zone, which is promoting business expansion through a dual-structure valve that blocks external gas leakage such as toxic gas leakage in the semiconductor process, and Thyssen Biopharm Co., Ltd. of the Gyeongbuk Cell Cultured Food Regulatory Free Special Zone, which is developing a technology to replace expensive FBS in the cell culture process and promoting an inexpensive and familiar fresh cultured meat business based on microfiber technology, each received the SMEs and Startups Agency Chairman’s Award.
After reviewing the support requirements, etc. for the three suspicious businesses, we plan to provide commercialization funds linked to the growth sharing fund of the Small and Medium Business Administration to increase the possibility of attracting investment from the private sector in the future.
Intervalue Partners, a regulatory sandbox fund management company, also attended this event to identify investment targets by checking the business models and growth potential of regulatory free zone operators, one of the regulatory sandboxes.
In addition, regional innovation venture fund management companies from Gangwon, Daegu, and Chungbuk participated, increasing the possibility of attracting investment for regional special zone operators such as Gangwon (AI Healthcare Global Innovation Special Zone), Chungbuk (Advanced Regenerative Bio Global Innovation Special Zone), and Gyeongbuk (Cell Cultured Food Regulatory-Free Special Zone).
Shin Min-cheol, partner at Sopung Ventures, who served as the evaluation committee chairman for this event, said in his evaluation, “I hope that new industries such as bio healthcare and food tech being promoted in the special zone will become new growth engines for our country, and I will actively review investments targeting special zone operators.”
Lim Jeong-wook, head of the Startup, Venture and Innovation Division, said, “Business operators in regulatory-free special zones and global innovation special zones are companies with high growth potential that create new business areas through regulatory reform,” adding, “In order to support special zone operators, investment attraction events that provide opportunities to meet investors will not stop at this, but will expand support for the growth of special zone operators through direct links with commercialization funding.”
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