"Startup Ecosystem Revitalization" Korea & Company Participates in Direct and Indirect Investments

Hankook & Company Group is engaged in various activities to promote the growth of domestic startups and revitalize the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Centered around the Group's Future Strategy Office, it conducts direct investments while also participating in indirect investments focused on open innovation to help the venture ecosystem operate actively.

Hankook Tire signed a pre-Series A investment contract worth 3 billion KRW with Carmus in February last year. This was a positive evaluation of the growth potential and innovativeness of Carmus, Korea's first used car e-commerce platform, and marked the Group's first lead investment in a startup. In March of the same year, Hankook & Company, a business holding company, invested 1 billion KRW in iTruck, an online used cargo truck trading platform based on big data. While exploring various business opportunities in the used cargo truck market, they are cooperating in various fields such as parts and maintenance, certified used cars, and used cargo truck exports.

Hankook Tire & Technology Headquarters
[Photo by Hankook & Company]

In addition to external investments, the Group has actively engaged in internal investments such as nurturing in-house ventures. Towncar, born as the first in-house venture in 2021, is Korea's first peer-to-peer car-sharing service. It started its service in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, as a government regulatory sandbox demonstration project. After the service launch, through cooperation with related ministries and local governments, it succeeded in developing dedicated insurance for personal car sharing and certification technology, steadily easing designated conditions. Since October last year, the service area has expanded to other regions in Gyeonggi Province, including Seongnam, Suwon, and Yongin.

The Group actively shares its accumulated experience in the mobility business with startups. As part of a startup support program jointly hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development along with CNT Tech, it has participated as a cooperating organization in the 'Rocketship IR Competition' since last year, investing in and collaborating with participating companies focused on mobility, robotics, digital dentistry, and electric vehicle ecosystems.

Hankook & Company and other judging companies selected 25 startups out of 94 applicants last year and provided consulting support. Additionally, last year, together with the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, they decided to establish a venture ecosystem across industries including future mobility, digital healthcare, eco-friendly energy, robotics, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI).

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