CJ ENM Selected as Operator for 'TIPS' Investment Program Hosted by Ministry of SMEs and Startups

CJ Group Affiliate Selected as TIPS Operator for the First Time

CJ ENM announced on the 16th that it has been selected as an operator for the TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) investment program, led by private investment and organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. This is the first time a CJ Group affiliate has been chosen as a TIPS operator.

TIPS is a representative innovation technology startup support platform led by private companies and backed by the government. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups selects investment firms with investment and holding capabilities as operators. After operators discover and nurture promising startups and recommend them to the Ministry, the Ministry conducts a separate evaluation and provides support such as technology development (R&D) and startup commercialization funds. Through TIPS, startups can receive investment support of over 100 million KRW from operators. They can also receive up to 500 million KRW in R&D funds from the government, as well as up to 700 million KRW in support benefits including commercialization and overseas marketing linkage.

A CJ ENM representative explained, "As a comprehensive media commerce company integrating multichannel commerce business, we were recognized for our differentiated support capabilities and were able to be selected as a TIPS operator." CJ ENM’s commerce division nurtures early-stage startups by leveraging its 'One Platform' strategy system, which encompasses multi-channels and related resources such as TV home shopping, T-commerce, mobile live commerce, and e-commerce, as well as media platforms in the entertainment division including the online video service (OTT) platform 'TVING', the comprehensive entertainment channel tvN, and content production and global distribution capabilities based on domestic and international multi-studios.

To operate the TIPS program, CJ ENM formed a consortium with top partners in each field including early-stage investment and incubation, industry-academia-research collaboration, and global support. The consortium includes CJ Group’s CJ Investment, CJ America, CJ CheilJedang, as well as specialized accelerators Tap Angel Partners, leading domestic investment firms IMM Investment, Aventures, Gravity Private Equity, and global venture capitals Primer Saz? Partners and Corelia Capital. Additionally, shared office platform FastFive, Korea University Crimson Startup Support Group, and Cheonggang Culture Industry University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation will actively support the incubation and nurturing of TIPS-selected companies.

With its selection as a TIPS operator, CJ ENM plans to fully utilize government agency cooperation programs, its own capabilities, and investment institution networks to focus on discovering competitive early-stage startups in core business areas. The CJ ENM commerce division will strengthen investments in platforms with growth potential, AI and IT technology-based startups, and strategic category-related ventures. To this end, it launched the ‘Oncubating (Onstyle+Incubating)’ program to discover and nurture small and medium-sized beauty and health functional food brands with differentiated products and technologies. Brands finally selected for ‘Oncubating’ will receive practical support for scaling up, including sales expansion through CJ OnStyle’s multichannel platforms such as TV home shopping and mobile live commerce, brand promotion, product quality improvement, and opportunities to attract TIPS-linked investments. The CJ ENM entertainment division plans to discover companies with convergent content technology, original IP, and IP commercialization capabilities. In particular, it will provide differentiated support by linking its powerful platform power and global capabilities to produce video content based on original IP, support entry into advanced markets such as the U.S., and branding through exposure on popular broadcast programs.

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