The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) announced that it held a 'Deep Tech Value-Up Joint Meetup Day' on the 12th at the Marriott Hotel in Seoul, with approximately 130 people including major corporations (7 companies), startups, and support organizations in attendance.
The 'Deep Tech Value-Up Program' is a program in which top-tier ventures and startups fostered by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and global corporations promote open innovation together.
Last August, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups first announced the 'Deep Tech Value-Up Program' in a meeting with CEOs of major corporations such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Company. After that, Hyundai Motor Company conducted a pilot project with startups, and in October, it selected six final collaborating companies through Hyundai Motor Company Zero One Day.
The six companies selected by Hyundai Motor Company are ▲Deep Insight ▲Inchems ▲Rowain ▲Tesolo ▲Flyleaf ▲Flotic. In particular, Deep Insight attracted large-scale investment of approximately 10 billion won last year in addition to participating in the value-up program, and also won an innovation award in recognition of its technological excellence at CES2025, which it participated in jointly with Hyundai Motor Company.
This year, a variety of large corporations, including Hyundai Motors, which participated in a pilot program last year, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, LG Science Park, POSCO Holdings, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and KT, are participating in the Deep Tech Value-Up Program. Based on the results of a demand survey conducted by large corporations in January, 26 startups that were customized and recommended by regional Creative Economy Innovation Centers (hereinafter referred to as Innovation Centers) participated in this joint meetup.
Through the Deep Tech Value Up Program, we plan to support about 50 startups this year, and large corporations will select the companies to collaborate with through evaluations among the startups discovered at this joint meetup. Startups that have confirmed collaborations with large corporations can receive up to 200 million won in collaboration funds for technology optimization, global expansion, etc.
Meanwhile, the 'Deep Tech Value-Up Joint Meetup Day' held on this day attracted attention with the direct participation of executives from seven large corporations, including Vice President Kim Dong-wook of Hyundai Motor Company and Vice President Jeon Pil-gyu of Samsung Electronics, rather than working-level officials from large corporations.
Hyundai Motor Company Vice President Kim Dong-wook, who presented a collaboration case at the joint meetup event that day, said, “The startups selected in last year’s pilot project and the Hyundai Motor Group’s field team are conducting a technology verification project (PoC, Proof of Concept) to confirm the possibility of applying the startup technology to the field,” and “This year, we plan to participate in a value-up program at the group level, company-wide, and collaborate with promising startups.”
At the event, along with the joint meetup, a technology protection business agreement was also signed with the National Innovation Center and the Small and Medium Business Agricultural and Fishery Cooperation Foundation. This agreement was prepared to minimize concerns about technology leaks from startups, as various open innovation support is being provided through the Innovation Center. The two organizations agreed to provide legal advice, etc. for various related contracts concluded between large companies and startups, such as NDAs (non-disclosure agreements).
Minister Oh Young-joo said, “Recently, in the deep tech super gap field, global countries are competing with each other by expanding related infrastructure and boldly expanding investment.” He added, “In order for large domestic corporations to win this fierce competition, it is most important to find new growth engines through open innovation with startups backed by technological prowess. If the private sector takes the lead, the government will actively help so that it can serve as a strong supporter.”
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