111 Domestic Venture and Startup Companies Win 'CES 2023 Innovation Awards'... Record High

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is listening to an explanation at 'CES 2023,' the world's largest consumer electronics and information technology exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, on the 5th (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 10th that 111 domestic venture and startup companies won the 'CES Innovation Awards' at the 'International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023' held in Las Vegas, USA, from the 5th to the 8th, achieving the highest number of awards ever.

The CES Innovation Awards are presented by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer of the exhibition, to innovative technologies and products leading the world, and are called the 'highest honor of CES.'

This year, a total of 434 companies and 609 products were selected for the Innovation Awards across 28 fields including Digital Health, Smart Cities, and Robotics. Among them, domestic companies accounted for 134 companies (30.9%) and 181 products (29.7%), making up one-third of all Innovation Award winners, significantly raising the recognition and status of Korean companies. Notably, 111 companies, or 82.8% of the domestic awardees, were venture and startup companies. Among them, 91 companies (67.9%) were startups within seven years of establishment, marking the highest number of awards ever.

Domestic venture and startup companies only won 7 awards in 2019, but except for 2021, when participation was low due to the spread of COVID-19, the number of Innovation Award-winning companies has increased every year. Starting last year, the number of awardees (71 companies) surged, achieving the highest number of awards this year.

Among the 111 venture and startup companies that won Innovation Awards, 87 companies (78.4%) have participated in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' startup support programs such as TIPS and commercialization support. TIPS is a program where the government provides linked support for research and development (R&D), commercialization, and overseas marketing to startups that have received pre-investment from private operators.

By innovation field, awards were won in a total of 19 fields including Digital Health and Software & Mobile Apps. Among these, 32 products (26.4%) in the Digital Health field won awards, receiving the most Innovation Awards. In the Software & Mobile Apps field, 25 products (20.7%) won awards, showing strength in healthcare and IT/software sectors for the second consecutive year.

The 'Best of Innovation' award, given to companies with the most innovative technologies and products across all exhibition fields, was awarded to 20 companies worldwide. Among the 9 domestic awardees, 5 were venture and startup companies (Zcrypto, Dot, Microsystem, Versys, Graphene Square), marking the highest number of Best of Innovation awards for venture and startup companies ever (only 1 company won last year).

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, "The record-breaking achievements at CES 2023 were the result of not only the innovative efforts of companies but also government support," adding, "This year, we will steadily achieve the goal of becoming a 'global startup powerhouse creating the future in the digital economy era.'"

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