'ComeUp Stars' Attracts 783 Startups from 37 Countries... Competition Rate 11:1

Discovering Domestic and International Innovative Companies through 'ComeUp' Providing Investment Attraction and Corporate Promotion
For the Public Contest 'Rookie League,' 664 Companies Applied for 36 Recruitment Slots, with a Competition Ratio of 18.4:1

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups attended the 'ComeUp 2021 Organizing Committee Launch Ceremony' held on May 26 at Dreamplus Gangnam in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where he received an explanation about the program's promotion direction. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] This year, 783 startups from 37 countries worldwide applied to participate in 'COMEUP STARS,' recording a high competition rate of 10.9:1.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the 2021 COMEUP Organizing Committee announced the application results for domestic and international innovative startups participating in 'COMEUP STARS' at this year's COMEUP event.

According to the Ministry and the Organizing Committee, over the one-month period from the 6th of last month to the 5th of this month, 783 startups from 37 countries including Korea applied, resulting in a high competition rate of 10.9:1 for the final recruitment of 72 companies, they announced on the 11th.

This year, startups with potential to grow into the next unicorn, called the 'Rocket League,' were recruited through recommendations from Korea Venture Investment Corp., while the promising 'Rookie League' was recruited through the COMEUP website as in the previous year.

In particular, the Rookie League, which was conducted through open recruitment, saw 664 companies apply for 36 spots, showing a high competition rate of 18.4:1. By country, India, which has 36 unicorn companies, submitted the most applications (26 companies), followed by Singapore (23 companies), the United States (20 companies), and Vietnam (10 companies).

The Ministry and the Organizing Committee analyzed that the strengthened ecosystem status through the growth of K-Startups and the high interest of domestic and international startups in the COMEUP event led to the high participation.

The Ministry and the Organizing Committee plan to conduct a preliminary review (checking for disqualifications), a first-round document evaluation, and a second-round online presentation evaluation for the 783 applicant companies, and select the final 72 companies in early next month.

The finally selected 'COMEUP STARS' will receive free support for producing promotional videos, and at the COMEUP event held in November, they will be supported not only with on-site presentations but also with global investor IR training, mentoring, business matching, networking, and overseas expansion support.

Marking its third year, 'COMEUP 2021' will be held from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday, November 19, at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) for three days, following social distancing measures in response to COVID-19, with a focus on non-face-to-face online and offline formats.

As the private organizing chairman of COMEUP 2021 and the evaluation chairman for 'COMEUP STARS,' Ahn Sung-woo, CEO of Zigbang, said, "We thank the domestic and international innovative companies that applied for COMEUP STARS," adding, "We will do our best to conduct a fair evaluation and select innovative startups with expertise and growth potential to lead the era of great transformation after COVID-19."

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