Mercedes-Benz Selects 5 Startups for 'Startup Autobahn' Program Final Round

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Mercedes-Benz Korea announced on the 10th that it has finally selected five startups to participate in the 100-day startup acceleration program of Daimler Group's startup nurturing platform, 'Startup Autobahn,' and will promote collaboration with the Daimler Group.

The companies participating in Startup Autobahn's 100-day startup acceleration program were selected in three fields: future automobiles, enterprise solutions, and sustainability. The selected startups will participate in a program consisting of collaboration project discovery, expert mentoring and education, and networking from the orientation event held today until early December.

More than 100 domestic startups from various fields such as AI, autonomous driving, infotainment, and enterprise solutions applied for this Startup Autobahn program, which is held in collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Seoul Startup Hub under Seoul City, and SparkLabs. Among them, 20 startups gave presentations at the 'Selection Day' held at the end of August to select the final participating teams.

The finally selected startups are ▲ Seoul Robotics, which develops autonomous driving software algorithms using LiDAR sensors ▲ Coconut Silo, a one-stop logistics app startup that tracks cargo and transportation status based on big data ▲ Happy Technology, the developer of InstaWash, which provides premium car wash services via a mobile app ▲ Thirteen Floor, which provides VR (virtual reality) and XR (extended reality) content usable in various fields such as entertainment, medical care, and education ▲ and Vestella Lab, the developer of Watchmile, a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) smart parking system using digital indoor navigation available in GPS-denied spaces.

The selected startups will participate in Daimler Group's next-generation startup discovery program for about 100 days to realize mobility, sustainability, and business digitalization. This program offers customized solutions through setting key performance indicators and company analysis, providing mentoring and education tailored to each company. It consists of mentoring by Daimler and experts, technical fields to support the concentrated growth of startups, and education in various areas necessary for business operations such as IR, publicity, marketing, and presentation skills.

Additionally, through Seoul Startup Hub under Seoul City, a co-operating institution, each startup will receive a project budget of 10 million KRW and workspace support. Especially during the project period, each company will have the opportunity to collaborate with Daimler Group experts to test innovative ideas and solutions applied to actual Daimler products and to prove technical feasibility and business viability considering future real business application.

Mercedes-Benz Korea plans to hold 'Expo Day' in December to share the final development results of the 100-day program and conduct networking events to seek investment opportunities through corporate partners and venture capitalists together with SparkLabs. Furthermore, excellent teams will be given the benefit of participating in the Startup Autobahn program in Germany, where they can directly discuss product commercialization opportunities with Daimler headquarters.

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