'Starfish Deicer', 'Waste Battery Clothes'... Social Ventures Pitching at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Sangui Hosts 'First Pitching Day' to Support Startups and Scaleups

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held the 'Startup Build-up Forum' on the 16th, featuring startups as the main players, in celebration of the '50th Anniversary Week of Commerce and Industry Day.' This forum included a fireside chat session sharing insights from entrepreneurship experts, pitching and booth exhibitions introducing innovative startup models, and networking opportunities.

Expert Dialogue, ‘Startups Provide Answers to Complex Social Issues’…The Challenge of Startups Innovating Society through Technology

The 'Fireside chat' session, where startup experts shared candid stories in a relaxed atmosphere, captured the attention of attendees. Moon Yeo-jung, Managing Director at IMM Investment, known as the first physician-turned-venture capitalist (VC) and the 'godmother' of healthcare startups, served as the moderator. Panelists included Yang Seung-chan, CEO of StarsTech, who struck a 'jackpot' with a starfish-based de-icing agent; Kim Jae-kwang, CEO of Viewrun Technology, developing eco-friendly autonomous driving solutions; and Ahn Jae-man, CEO of Vesel AI, lowering the barrier to AI utilization through a machine learning development platform.

Yang Seung-chan, who gained attention from appearing on tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block,' said, “Commonly used de-icing agents cause asphalt damage and soil and water pollution, whereas the starfish-based de-icing agent has a corrosion rate of 0.8%, which is even lower than water.” He added, “It minimizes environmental destruction and simultaneously utilizes starfish, a marine pest, achieving a twofold benefit.”

Yang further shared, “We have recently started tapping into the global market by exporting to Canada and Japan,” and expressed his unique ambition, saying, “With the conviction that ‘more environmentally friendly is more economical,’ I want to prove that eco-friendly technology holds superiority over capital.”

Kim Jae-kwang, who has consecutively attended CES from last year to this year, stated, “Our goal is to lead the Lidar-based autonomous driving technology market and improve inefficiencies in the logistics sector.” He also revealed, “We are successfully conducting Korea’s first demonstration project delivering food ingredients using autonomous trucks.”

Moderator Moon Yeo-jung said, “Through this dialogue, we were able to share the thoughts of startup CEOs who contribute to economic development by solving various overlooked social problems in innovative ways.” She continued, “Behind the spotlight on new industries and technologies lie numerous issues that all members of society must discuss and resolve together,” emphasizing startups’ ‘social responsibility’ and ‘problem-solving role.’

KCCI’s First Startup ‘Pitching Day’…Startups Present Diverse Innovative Models Addressing Climate Issues

This forum was also held as an ‘Industry-specific Pitching Day.’ The first industry featured was ‘Climate Tech,’ with 13 startups participating to introduce how they are responding to global environmental challenges through booth exhibitions and pitching.

Among the participating startups, those in the ‘Eco Tech’ field?such as upcycling, eco-friendly product manufacturing, and waste reduction?were the most numerous. Companies like LD Carbon, which transforms used tires into new tires; Lightroot, which extracts fabric from electric vehicle battery separators; Chemipolio, producing natural compounds harmless to the environment and humans; and Rico and Innobus, which smartly revolutionize waste collection and processing, showcased their innovative technologies before representatives from large corporations and investment institutions.

Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI, said, “As Korea’s economic growth model rapidly shifts from large corporations to ventures and startups, KCCI will also support the sustainable growth of startups.” He added, “By acting as a bridge between startups and large and medium-sized enterprises, we will provide collaboration opportunities and actively support startups’ scale-up through investment attraction, market development, and early market entry via regulatory sandboxes.”

Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, also delivered a congratulatory speech, urging, “Please fully utilize KCCI’s capabilities to enable collaboration and joint innovation between large corporations and startups.” He added, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will further expand support for startup companies through cooperation with public and private institutions such as KCCI.”

Meanwhile, the event was attended by Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI; Cho Joo-hyun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; and many well-known domestic startup support and investment institutions including D.CAMP, Hyosung Ventures, Seoul Business Agency, SK Innovation, and Yozma Group Korea. KCCI stated that institutions interested in investing in or collaborating with the climate tech companies participating in pitching and exhibitions should contact the startup teams directly.

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