Martial Arts and Investment IR Competition Held... Funding Support for Startups

Matching Fund Support of 180 Million Won Planned

On the 19th, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) held the final round and awards ceremony of the 'Startup Investment Booster IR Competition' at the COEX Startup Branch in Seoul, jointly with the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation and the University Industry Technology Support Group.

This event was organized to help startups lacking initial funding attract investment and to provide additional matching funds to companies that secured final investments. KITA and the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation formed a panel of 12 investment firms and judges, selecting the final three companies out of 10 finalists who overcame a competition rate of about 6 to 1.

After the award ceremony of the 'Startup Investment Booster IR Competition' jointly hosted by the Korea International Trade Association, the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and the University Industry Technology Support Group at COEX Startup Branch on the 19th, participating companies are taking a commemorative photo. / Photo by Korea International Trade Association

The Grand Prize was awarded to the startup 'Bumyeong', which provides secondary battery inspection and diagnostic solutions; the Silver Prize went to 'Tilda', a startup offering machine learning business solutions for optimal decision-making; and the Bronze Prize was given to 'Ploid', a startup presenting AI-based secondary battery inspection equipment automation software. The three awarded companies received a total prize money of 6 million KRW along with listing.

The 12 investment firms participating in the judging process will, regardless of the awards, conduct individual meetings and face-to-face evaluations with the startups that reached the finals, deciding on final investments by November. For startups that succeed in attracting investment, the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation will provide a total of 180 million KRW in matching funds.

Lee Myung-ja, Head of the Digital Innovation Division at KITA, stated, "Attracting investment at the early stage is crucial for startups to grow," adding, "Given the difficulties startups face due to interest rate hikes and weakened investment sentiment, we hope this competition will help alleviate their funding challenges and activate investment."

Jeon Jong-chan, Secretary General of the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, expressed, "We hope this competition will serve as a good stepping stone for startups to form close partnerships with leading investors and grow."

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