[Report] Korea's Largest Startup Event 'ComeUp 2022'... Covering the Future Industries

'ComeUp 2022' Held from 9th to 11th
Over 250 Participants from 19 Countries

A view of the venue for 'ComeUp 2022,' the largest startup event in Korea, held from the 9th to the 11th at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Jung-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "I was so surprised. It is such an honor to participate in such a great event."

Rachel Tobin (27), CEO of Nao Now, said this excitedly when meeting a reporter at the 'COMEUP 2022', the largest startup event in Korea, on the 9th. Nao Now was the first startup visited by Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, at the event booth, and the minister and CEO Rachel had a conversation in English for about five minutes.

Nao Now is an online English education platform established in 2020. Teachers from prestigious U.S. universities such as the Ivy League and UCLA teach there. CEO Rachel is also a prodigy who graduated from Yale University and entered medical school. She said, "Before entering medical school, I taught English to many Korean students in LA Koreatown," adding, "This experience was the trigger to start a business in Korea."

Regarding COMEUP, CEO Rachel said it was an "incredible event" and added, "I participated because I wanted to network with various people and expand our business."

Rachel Tobin (27), CEO of Nao Now

Another eye-catching startup at the venue was Rippleda, which has technology to decompose plastic using bacteria. Founded in 2016, Rippleda developed technology that decomposes plastic and increases recyclability using bacteria extracted from insect intestines, obtaining a patent in 2020. They completed a Series A investment of 2 billion KRW in July.

Seo Dong-eun (23), CEO of Rippleda, whom we met on-site, majored in biotechnology at university and then delved into microbial research. The separation rate of plastic waste in Korea is 62%, but the recycling rate is only 13%. The low recycling rate is because various plastics are mixed in a single product. According to him, decomposing this with microbes can greatly increase the recycling rate. CEO Seo said, "When I am immersed in development in the lab, I often don't meet people frequently," adding, "I participated in COMEUP because all the people we know and those we need to meet in the future gather here."

Seodong is the CEO of Ripplea.

Business matching booth set up inside the 'ComeUp 2022' event venue.

On one side of the COMEUP venue, a separate booth for 'business matching' was set up. Inside the booth, groups of three to five people, appearing to be startup officials and investors, were busy holding meetings. Participants with name tags from large companies such as Samsung Electronics and startup and investment-related organizations walked around the booth, listening to business details from startup representatives or exchanging business cards. A representative from a domestic distribution company said, "I was particularly interested in startups with logistics-related solutions," adding, "There seem to be more companies that can create synergy with us than I expected."

There was also a startup whose main customers are startups. Codebox operates 'ZUZU,' which manages shareholder registers, stock option changes, shareholders' meetings, and board meetings for unlisted companies such as startups. Seventy startups participating in COMEUP are potential customers of Codebox.

Codebox currently has over 4,500 unlisted companies as customers, including Inflearn, Payple, and MyFair. They raised 20 billion KRW in Series B investment last April. A Codebox representative explained, "Many startups grant stock options, and we manage various contracts and changes related to this," adding, "Shareholders' meetings are legally complex, but if entrusted to us, we can handle all related documents and matters."

COMEUP, held until the 11th, is expected to have about 250 participants from 19 countries including the U.S., Germany, Italy, Vietnam, and the U.K. Various programs such as conferences starring startups, COMEUP Stars, open innovation, and side events will be held. Especially this year, as it is the first event led by the private sector, it is said that various plans have been prepared to develop it into a global startup event in the future.

Codebox event venue booth overview.

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