Korean Startup Proposes Collaboration to BMW and Airbus... Introducing Innovative Technology in Germany

Korea Venture Investment and KOTRA Open Innovation Project
6 Startups Participate... Pitching Event to Global Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Korean startups are embarking on innovation with global companies BMW and Airbus. Korea Venture Investment Corp., KOTRA, and BMW Startup Garage Korea promoted the 'BMW Open Innovation IR Roadshow' project from the 29th of last month to the 1st of this month in Munich, Germany.

At the BMW Open Innovation IR Roadshow, 15 participants from six startups selected through the 'BMW Open Innovation Pitching Day' held at SETEC in Seoul last April took part. They visited Munich, Germany for 4 nights and 5 days to introduce their innovative technologies to global German manufacturers including BMW and Airbus and proposed collaboration.

The six participating startups are companies that received investments from sub-funds funded by the Korea Fund of Funds: △ AI virtual human company D △ AI semiconductor company D based on neural processing unit (NPU) △ eco-friendly leather seat and leather thread manufacturer A △ cloud-based virtual reality (VR) and metaverse solution company I △ AI assistant for developers company L △ digital ID authentication and security solution company S.

On the 29th of last month, pitching and exhibitions by the six participating startups were held at BMW Group’s Research and Innovation Center. About 150 BMW employees gathered to watch the Korean startups’ pitching, and approximately 350 people visited the exhibition booths throughout the day, showing high interest in collaborating with Korean innovative technology startups. This led to one-on-one consultations on site, and discussions are currently underway regarding the possibility of proof of concept (PoC) projects between the participating startups and BMW Group’s business divisions.

Dragana Kostic, Head of BMW Asia-Pacific Headquarters, said, “This is the first time since COVID-19 that Korean startups have visited the headquarters in person to introduce their technologies,” adding, “We expect many collaboration projects to take place in the future.”

On the 30th of last month, the startups visited Airbus Group’s Research and Innovation Center located on the outskirts of Munich and held a pitching event. The event was conducted for key personnel within the group, including Airbus Blue Sky (the open innovation dedicated organization). Following the pitching, various discussions for technology verification continued. Jean-Dominique Coste, Head of Blue Sky Group, stated, “We will keep all possibilities open and continue discussions for technological cooperation with Korean startups.”

Among the participating startups, two companies also visited Webasto, a global automotive parts company with a 100-year history, and Accuron, a company specializing in autonomous driving and precision engineering, during this business trip to hold one-on-one consultations and discuss collaboration possibilities.

Lee Young-min, CEO of Korea Venture Investment Corp., said, “Conducting open innovation programs with global companies is highly meaningful as a foothold for excellent Korean startups to enter overseas markets,” and added, “We will do our best to support the overseas expansion of competitive domestic startups to nurture unicorn companies.”

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