KDB KDB Nexteone 4th Cohort Startup Incubation Program Support Begins

Final Selection of 15 Companies... 5 Months of Space Support, Mentoring, and Consulting
San-eun Supports a Total of 45 Companies up to the 3rd Term... Attracting 31.3 Billion KRW in Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Korea Development Bank (KDB) announced on the 3rd that it will start an incubation program this month for 15 startups from the 4th batch of 'KDB Next ONE' at Front1 in Mapo-gu, Seoul, over a period of five months.

A total of 339 companies applied for the 4th batch of KDB Next ONE through the online platform NextRound, recording a competition rate of about 23 to 1. After the first document screening and the second presentation screening, 15 companies were finally selected.

The 15 selected companies consist of innovative firms in various fields, including six companies in artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, three in healthcare, two in software, as well as logistics, service robots, and energy. About 70% of these are early-stage companies with less than three years of operation.

KDB plans to provide the selected companies not only with office space support but also with customized mentoring, IR consulting, business linkage, demo days, and other support for practical growth. Additionally, through organic connections with other venture platforms such as 'KDB NextRound,' the country's leading investment attraction platform, and NextRise (a startup fair), KDB will offer step-by-step and tailored support.

Moreover, KDB will strengthen overseas support for startups' globalization by utilizing its local venture capital (VC) subsidiary established last year in Silicon Valley, USA, and the currently operating Singapore Venture Desk, providing expert mentoring, connections to local VCs, and hosting investment attraction IR events.

Meanwhile, since its launch in 2020, KDB Next ONE has incubated 45 startups over three batches. Participating companies have achieved numerous business outcomes such as business partnerships and patent applications, as well as creating new jobs. Notably, 25 of these companies raised a total of 31.3 billion KRW in investments during the incubation period.

Among alumni companies, Microsystem (2nd batch) was selected as the top company in the '2021 Baby Unicorn 200,' AU (1st batch) won the grand prize at 'Challenge K-Startup 2021,' and Astron Security (2nd batch) received the startup grand prize in the security company category at the 'Security Awards Korea 2021.'

A KDB official stated, "KDB will be with promising startups throughout the entire process of growing into global unicorns," adding, "We will continue to develop KDB's venture platforms such as KDB Next ONE, KDB NextRound, and NextRise, and strengthen programs utilizing overseas networks and online platforms to fully support startup growth."

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