Seoul City Supports Startups and Large Corporations for Global Joint Expansion... Aiming for Over 130 Entries

Large Corporations Seek Innovative Technologies to Lead New Industries... Startups Use Large Corporations as a Springboard for Overseas Expansion
Matching 20 Major Companies Including Mercedes-Benz, P&G, Binggrae with Over 100 Startups

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is placing a strong emphasis on the overseas expansion of startup companies in its entrepreneurship policy this year, actively supporting more than 130 startups to enter foreign markets.

On the 1st, Seoul announced plans to support startups' overseas expansion by matching startups with large corporations for joint global entry and by collaborating with foreign governments and institutions to help Korean companies establish themselves locally.

First, Seoul will lead joint overseas expansion by matching startups with innovative technologies and large corporations that need to secure future growth engines and enter new business fields through technology partnerships. The strategy shifts from supporting individual startups with promising technologies and growth potential to an 'open innovation' approach, enabling startups to find a shortcut to overseas expansion through large corporations with already solid business foundations.

This year, Seoul plans to support the technology commercialization and overseas expansion of over 100 startups in collaboration with about 20 global large corporations. It is already cooperating with global companies such as Mercedes-Benz and P&G, and will start cooperation with Binggrae from this year.

Accordingly, a business agreement will be signed on this day between Binggrae and Seoul Startup Hub to jointly discover and nurture startups. The two organizations will collaborate in areas such as discovering and nurturing promising startups in AI, eco-friendly materials, and food tech, supporting follow-up investments, technology partnerships between large corporations and startups, and joint global expansion.

To help domestic startups settle more quickly in overseas local markets, cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations will be dramatically strengthened to lead the local entry of more than 30 startups. As Seoul’s startup ecosystem grows and more competitive companies emerge, aggressive support such as local incorporation will now be promoted.

Additionally, Seoul will establish 'startup support bases' in key overseas cities that have emerged as major battlegrounds for global startups, providing comprehensive support including acceleration, technology demonstration, and local corporation establishment to help our startups settle locally.

Kim Ui-seung, Director of Seoul’s Economic Policy Office, said, "Despite COVID-19 last year, we actively implemented entrepreneurship support policies such as the startup growth promotion package and support for technology personnel wages to help promising startups seize opportunities. This year, we will strengthen support for startup technology commercialization through 'open innovation' with global large corporations by establishing startup support bases overseas."

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