Mercedes-Benz Korea Hosts Startup Nurturing Platform 'Startup Autobahn'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Mercedes-Benz Korea announced on the 24th that it will hold the Daimler Group's startup nurturing platform, 'STARTUP AUTOBAHN,' and begin accepting applications from participating companies.

STARTUP AUTOBAHN is a global open innovation platform established by the Daimler Group in 2016 to discover promising startups and build cooperative systems. The Daimler Group provides startup companies with expert mentoring and networking opportunities, investment opportunities through venture capital (VC), development spaces, and equipment.

Through STARTUP AUTOBAHN, the Daimler Group has discovered more than 5,000 startups worldwide and has jointly conducted pilot programs in various fields such as IT and artificial intelligence (AI). In Korea, the program was first conducted last year with five startups. This year, the number of selected companies will be increased by up to about twice, and partner companies capable of collaboration will also be recruited.

In particular, together with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Seoul Startup Hub, Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, N15, and others, nurturing programs will be provided to participating companies along with various customized collaboration opportunities.

This year's STARTUP AUTOBAHN will announce domestic partner companies and detailed programs in June. Additionally, from September to December, programs such as project pitching and networking events, evaluation and selection by Daimler and startup experts, mentoring, VC networking, and investment attraction will be operated.

Outstanding teams will also be given the benefit of participating in the local German STARTUP AUTOBAHN program, allowing them to directly discuss product commercialization with Daimler headquarters.

Philipp Neiting, Head of Open Innovation at Mercedes-Benz Group, stated, "This year, we will carefully support a wider variety of domestic startups to stand out on a bigger stage through Daimler's open innovation platform."

Applications for participation in this STARTUP AUTOBAHN program will be accepted on the official website from today until August 19.

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