Looking at Korean Companies at 'IFA Next'... From Samsung-Born Healthcare to the 'Inventor King' AI Firms

Korea's 57 Companies Participate Most
Samsung Venture C-Lab 'Bresings'
Inventor King 'B-Touch' and More

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] With just ten days left until the opening of the International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) held in Germany, attention is focused on 'IFA NEXT,' which shares innovative products and ideas from small and medium-sized enterprises aiming for global expansion. Among the participating companies, Korean firms are the most numerous, drawing significant attention. They are actively striving to captivate European consumers on the IFA stage, held on-site for the first time in two years, to expand their global market channels.

According to the IFA organizing committee on the 22nd, 182 companies are participating in IFA NEXT this year. Booths are set up in one section of 'Hall 20' among 35 halls. By continent, Europe has 102 companies, Asia 65, and North America 15. By country, Korea leads with 57 companies, accounting for 31.3%. Following are Germany (38), France (32), Italy (15), and the United States (14). All of these companies aspire to capture European consumers through IFA and leap forward as global enterprises.

The most notable domestic small and medium-sized enterprise is Bressings, which has reborn as a spin-off company through Samsung's in-house venture nurturing program 'C-Lab.' As a home-use lung health management solution provider, it recently commercialized the lung muscle strength measurement service 'BULO-H01,' attracting attention in the healthcare industry. It is a personalized breathing exercise support service, aligning well with the purpose of IFA NEXT, which is to exhibit 'digital technology for realizing health, fitness, and wellness.' Another eye-catching company is V-Touch, founded by CEO Kim Seokjung, who gained fame as the 'Patent King' at the Korean Intellectual Property Office last year. The service allows devices to recognize finger gestures made in mid-air about 3 meters away from the screen, receiving praise for fitting well in the contactless era.

There is also Vernect, the only Korean company recognized as an 'Outstanding Infrastructure Technology Industrialization Case' by the G20 Infrastructure Working Group. As an industrial extended reality (XR) solution company, it has been acknowledged for providing ▲augmented reality (AR) technology ▲digital transformation (DT) of industries ▲metaverse, earning positive responses from the industrial sector. Another notable company is Viewrantech, which develops LiDAR-based autonomous driving solutions. Founded in 2019 by CEO Kim Jaegwang, a former researcher at Hyundai Motor's Autonomous Driving Research Center, the company is well-known for receiving investment from NAVER's startup accelerator D2SF in June.

The Samsung Electronics exhibition hall at the International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) 2019 held in Berlin, Germany. This was the most recent IFA held on-site. (Photo by Samsung Electronics)

These companies are recognized for possessing proprietary technology and aligning with the purpose of the IFA NEXT exhibition, thus drawing high interest in expanding their European market channels. An industry insider said, "Although the overall success of IFA 2022, held on-site for the first time in two years due to COVID-19 variables, cannot be guaranteed, it will be a valuable opportunity for these companies."

IFA NEXT is a side event of IFA where startups, research institutions, and universities showcase innovative products and ideas, launched in 2017. Innovative companies on this stage will meet approximately 230,000 visitors and buyers expected to flock to IFA 2022, which features a record high participation of about 1,900 companies.

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