Online Technology Transactions and Investment Attraction... Seoul City Opens 'Startup Plus'

98 Public-Private Startup Facilities, 5,000 Company Profiles... Comprehensive Investor Information Platform Launched
Optimized Matching by Analyzing Investor Interests and Company Characteristics → Resolving Mismatches and Accelerating Investment Attraction
Over 1,500 Domestic and International Paid and Free Patent Technologies Registered in ‘Seoul Tech Trade On’ → Online Technology Trading Begins

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul’s online startup ecosystem platform, ‘Startup Plus,’ will open on the 18th. Regardless of time and place, anyone can check company information online, from startup technology data to patent status and investment attraction status, enabling everything from matching with investors to technology transactions between companies on an integrated online platform.

Starting in the second half of this year, it will be connected in real-time online with global startup cities such as London and New York, and an advanced service will begin that uses artificial intelligence (AI) analysis to match recommended companies and interested investors by industry and technology.

According to Seoul City on the 17th, ‘Startup Plus’ comprehensively includes information from 5,000 startups holding data, 183 investment firms and accelerators, and 9 large and medium-sized enterprises, as well as private and public startup support organizations. It is a new integrated startup platform that allows ecosystem members to continuously update and add information themselves, accumulating it on a cloud-based system, so that promising company information can be easily checked and shared immediately on smartphones and computers.

Based on functions that allow production, accumulation, sharing, and trading of startup information, Startup Plus offers three core services: startup information sharing, investor matching, and technology transactions. All information for entrepreneurs, such as startup support project applications, public startup facility reservations, investment attraction event schedules, and prototype production support centers, can be checked in one place. All members, including companies, investors, and startup support facilities, become both producers and consumers of information, and all produced information is provided in real-time.

With accumulated data and optimized analysis, it resolves mismatches between startups and investors and actively promotes the essential ‘investment attraction’ for company growth. Companies can identify interested investors by specific industries and technologies, while investors can review companies’ investment attraction status and owned technologies to select companies with growth potential. Companies can receive customized support project recommendations by analyzing past business application histories, and by using the ‘Find Investors’ function, they can send IR materials and other company information to investors who wish to match, enabling investors to review and arrange meetups.

The online technology transaction feature, ‘Seoul Tech Trade On,’ supports technology transactions for companies aiming to grow through new business model development and technology. Currently, about 1,500 domestic and international paid and free patent technologies are registered. The Seoul Startup Growth Center participates to enhance expertise, and 57 technology experts (scouters) in various technical fields explore and analyze patented technologies held by universities and government-funded research institutes according to startup demands, suggesting appropriate technologies and providing consulting necessary for technology transactions.

Seoul City expects these functions to be diversely utilized by companies and investors in their preferred ways, such as large and medium-sized enterprises directly selecting startups to carry out joint technology cooperation called ‘Open Innovation.’ Private and public startup organizations announce residency, education, and support projects on each sub-portal, which are linked in real-time with the main platform, allowing applications and registrations on both the sub-portals and the main platform.

Additionally, ‘Startup Plus’ will undergo continuous system upgrades to quickly respond to the rapidly changing economic and startup ecosystem. It plans to grow into an ‘evolving platform’ by linking Seoul’s online startup ecosystem with government and related agencies through connections with the Seoul Investment Agency, Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ startup portal, and others.

From the second half of this year, an ‘English service’ for information on global companies, investors, enterprises, and startup support facilities will be launched. AI will be introduced to enable automatic recommendation and matching of support projects and technologies suitable for companies, and function upgrades are planned to automatically recommend and match startups according to investors’ investment trends.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Seoul City’s Economic Policy Office, said, “We will fully operate Startup Plus, where startup and investment companies can easily and quickly produce, accumulate, share, and trade various information, to revitalize Seoul’s online startup ecosystem.” He added, “In particular, by strengthening online connections with overseas cities, we will expand opportunities for companies to enter foreign markets and support the value growth of companies.”

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