'Challenge K-Startup 2020' Participant Recruitment... Total Prize Money Approximately 1.6 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 26th that it is recruiting participants for 'Challenge K-Startup 2020,' the largest startup competition in Korea with a total prize of 1.58 billion KRW.

This startup competition began in 2016 as a joint government initiative and is now in its fifth year. It operates through eight preliminary leagues reflecting the characteristics of each institution, followed by semifinals, finals, and a grand championship, ultimately selecting 20 winning teams.

The grand championship will be held at the global startup festival 'ComeUp 2020' scheduled for November this year.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will newly establish and operate a separate Artificial Intelligence (AI) league this year to discover promising entrepreneurs who will lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in addition to the existing Innovation Startup League and Women’s League.

Teams advancing to the Challenge K-Startup semifinals (180 teams) will receive benefits such as exemption from document screening when applying for startup-related projects by the Ministry, including preliminary startups, early startups, startup leap, and re-challenge success packages. Furthermore, teams advancing to the finals (60 teams) and the grand championship (20 teams) will receive additional benefits such as exemption from technology evaluation guarantee fees and exemption from document screening for selection in overseas pitching competitions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.