CJ O Shopping 'Challenge Startup'... The First Challenger is the 'Artificial Intelligence Pillow'

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] CJ ENM O Shopping Division announced on the 28th that it will showcase six products, finally selected through the excellent startup discovery and nurturing program ‘Challenge Startup,’ on the free broadcast program ‘1 Company 1 Premium Product.’

Challenge Startup is O Shopping Division’s representative win-win program supporting the growth of excellent domestic startups. The O Shopping Division started this program in partnership with Seoul Startup Hub to support startups with innovative technology-based commercialization ideas. Recruitment began in March this year, and after customized consulting on product development and branding, six companies were finally selected in July.

The six companies selected are Metel (AI pillow), Sunsu Baram (scalp dryer), MJ Beauty (root hair dye device), Human Toktok (educational talking pen), Blueleo (suction electric toothbrush), and People Multi (health check topper). All are startups established less than seven years ago with innovative and unique technological capabilities.

The first company to launch a product is the sleep tech company Metel. Metel, a newly established startup founded in April 2016, developed the smart pillow ‘Jerema.’ When connected to a smartphone, Jerema detects the sleeper’s snoring using artificial intelligence (AI) and automatically adjusts the pillow height. This is a new concept technology that helps maintain a comfortable sleeping posture. Metel showcased the Jerema pillow at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in the United States this year and successfully raised $100,000 on the global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The product is scheduled to be introduced on CJ O Shopping’s 1 Company 1 Premium Product program in early November.

CJ ENM O Shopping Division plans to sequentially launch the products at intervals of 1 to 2 weeks until January next year. The ‘scalp dryer,’ which applies digital technology and features styling modes and automatic temperature settings, and the ‘root hair dye device,’ which dispenses dye when pressed against the scalp, will be introduced on 1 Company 1 Premium Product within November. The ‘educational talking pen,’ which activates a reading function when touched on teaching materials, the ‘suction electric toothbrush,’ which cleans by sucking substances inside the mouth after brushing, and the ‘health check device,’ which measures and informs health status during sleep, will be launched between December and January next year. In particular, People Multi, an Internet of Things (IoT) research and development company that developed the health check device, is also conducting social contribution projects for the health management of elderly people living alone using its technology. It was also selected last year as an innovative startup project performer under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ Startup Growth Technology Development Project.

The O Shopping Division will provide 10 million KRW in broadcasting support funds to each of the four startups launching products first. This incentive is given to companies that advance the schedule for developing finished products suitable for CJ O Shopping’s 1 Company 1 Premium Product broadcast and put in extra effort.

Lee Ho-beom, Head of External Cooperation at CJ ENM O Shopping Division, said, “We are providing free broadcasting opportunities to help innovative products developed by excellent startups successfully settle in the market,” and added, “We plan to actively support these companies to grow further by using this 1 Company 1 Premium Product broadcast as a stepping stone.”

Meanwhile, 1 Company 1 Premium Product is a win-win program operated by CJ ENM O Shopping Division since 2012 to help excellent domestic small and medium enterprises (SMEs) open new sales channels. It is a business that provides sales opportunities to SMEs with excellent products without charging commissions. The O Shopping Division regularly schedules 1 Company 1 Premium Product on TV home shopping for 30 minutes four times a week from 5:30 a.m., and also runs the program on CJ O Shopping Plus, a T-commerce channel, and the online mall CJmall.

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