'ComeUp Stars 2024' Confirms 140 Companies from 21 Countries Globally

Strong Performance in Advanced Industries Such as AI, Space, Aviation, and Eco-Friendly Sectors

Korea Startup Forum, the organizer of the global startup festival 'COMEUP,' announced on the 5th that it has selected 140 startups to participate in COMEUPSTARS 2024.

COMEUPSTARS is an innovative company program presented annually by COMEUP. This year, aiming to expand the global base, strengthen support for early-stage startups, and foster an entrepreneurial atmosphere, it recruited promising startups worldwide for a month starting in June. A record number of 1,208 companies applied for the 20 teams in the Runners League and 100 companies in the Rookies League, the selection targets, and including recommended invitations, a total of 140 startups were finalized.

By industry, software and deep tech fields such as Extended Reality (XR), Software as a Service (SaaS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), space, and aviation showed strong performance. Among the 120 selected teams, 37 companies, accounting for 30.8%, were in these fields. In addition, innovative startups active in various sectors such as energy and sustainability, fintech, media and entertainment, healthcare and bio, real estate and construction, and mobility were broadly selected.

The selected startups will hold an orientation on the 9th and begin the race to advance to the finals. To this end, COMEUP will provide intensive customized mentoring programs in various forms and plans to select 30 teams in the Rookies League and 10 teams in the Runners League through preliminaries in October to advance to the finals stage in December. Han Sang-woo, Chairman of KOSPO, said, “As a record number of 1,208 startups applied for COMEUPSTARS this year, fierce competition was held during the selection process. We will continue active accelerating efforts so that the selected companies can fully demonstrate their innovative ideas and global capabilities on the December final stage.”

Meanwhile, COMEUP 2024 will be held for two days on December 11 and 12 at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This year, the target audience, which was mainly startups and ecosystem stakeholders, will be expanded to include prospective entrepreneurs and the general public, focusing on spreading the startup culture.

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