K-Global Project Companies Saw 26% Revenue Increase Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] It has been revealed that beneficiary companies of the government-led ICT startup and venture support project, the 'K-Global Project,' recorded sales growth exceeding 20% last year. Among the 10 beneficiary companies, 8 generated sales, and overseas sales accounted for 10% of the total sales. Patent applications and investment attraction also followed.

The Ministry of Science and ICT disclosed the performance of 495 beneficiary companies of the K-Global Project on the 6th. Since 2015, the Ministry has integrated ICT startup and venture support projects under the 'K-Global' brand and announces a unified call for applications every early year.

First, the number of new jobs created by the 495 companies that responded to this survey was confirmed to be 2,547. As of the end of last year, the number of employees currently working was 7,298, a 53.6% increase compared to one year ago (4,751). The average number of new hires per company was 5.1, and 74.1% (367 companies) of the respondents created new jobs.

Sales in 2020 amounted to 620.2 billion KRW, an increase of 129.4 billion KRW (26.4%↑) compared to the previous year's sales (490.8 billion KRW). Sales were generated in 79.8% (395 companies) of the beneficiary companies, and overseas sales accounted for about 10% (62 billion KRW) of total sales.

Additionally, these companies succeeded in attracting 344.9 billion KRW in investments last year. Compared to 246.9 billion KRW in 2019, this is an increase of 98 billion KRW (39.7%↑). The number of companies that succeeded in attracting investments was 187 (37.8%), and overseas investment accounted for 49.91 billion KRW (about 14.5%) of the total investment amount.

The number of patent applications filed was 1,760, an increase of 641 (57.3%↑) compared to 1,119 in 2019. Companies with patent applications numbered 280 (56.6%). Overseas applications accounted for 488 (about 27.7%) of all patent applications.

The Ministry of Science and ICT also introduced detailed cases of individual companies.

'Riiid,' which provides an AI tutor solution, filed patents in the United States, Japan, Vietnam, and the Middle East with support from the Ministry. It also signed an MOU with a global education company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates and concluded a supply contract for AI-based learning solutions with the top education company in the United States. Achievements include establishing a local corporation in Silicon Valley, USA, and attracting 50 billion KRW in investment. This year, it plans to accelerate overseas expansion by entering the North American, Middle Eastern, South American, and African markets.

‘VUNO,’ Korea’s first AI medical device company, laid the groundwork for overseas expansion by signing a licensing contract with Taiwan’s largest comprehensive medical company. Earlier this year, it successfully pursued a KOSDAQ listing through an initial public offering (IPO), continuing its steady growth.

Mathpresso, which provides the AI-based real-time problem-solving search app ‘Qanda,’ launched new services in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia, simultaneously ranking first on the Google Play Store education popularity chart, and achieved 42.2 billion KRW in overseas investment attraction.

Lee Seung-won, Director of the Information and Communication Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “Despite the global business environment contraction caused by COVID-19 last year, the high performance of K-Global Project beneficiary companies can be seen as the result of customized support policies tailored to companies’ needs.” He added, “The government will actively support digital new deal-related startups and venture companies to grow into high-growth companies and showcase excellent technology worldwide through overseas expansion.”

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