Gwangju City Expands Support Program for Startup Technology Demonstration

Recruitment Open Until April 18
Support Types Expanded from 3 to 6

Gwangju City has decided to expand the 'Demonstration Support Project' for startup company products in 2025 and will recruit participating companies from the 1st to the 18th of next month. Provided by Gwangju City

The demonstration city of Gwangju will once again open the entire city as a testing ground this year to support startup companies in demonstrating their innovative technology products.

On the 31st, Gwangju City announced that it will expand the “2025 Startup Product Demonstration Support Project” and recruit participating companies from April 1 to 18. The demonstration support project will increase the number of supported companies to 50 and, in addition to the existing types?autonomous, citizen-experience, and public demand solution types?will newly add Public Infrastructure Solution Type, Large/Medium/Small Enterprise Solution Type, and Venue Provision Type.

Companies participating in the demonstration support are seeing tangible results such as increased sales, job creation, and securing sales channels. In fact, the 45 companies that participated last year achieved 7 billion KRW in increased sales, attracted 5.1 billion KRW in investments, and newly hired 67 employees.

This project provides startups with the opportunity to demonstrate their new technologies and products in real-world environments, increasing the potential for commercialization and supporting early market entry. It continues to attract keen interest from startups every year.

This call for applications will recruit 29 companies for the Autonomous, Public Infrastructure Solution, and Venue Provision types, and will sequentially recruit companies for the Citizen-Experience, Public Demand Solution, and Large/Medium/Small Enterprise Solution types afterward.

The Autonomous type targets companies within seven years of founding (ten years for new industries) that possess products and services just before commercialization. Companies can freely apply with their own demonstration tasks and locations related to their innovative technology. If selected, up to 100 million KRW in demonstration costs will be provided per project.

The Public Infrastructure Solution type supports the demonstration of innovative technologies and business models at public infrastructure facilities such as Bitgoeul Startup Station (STA·G, Stage), Information and Culture Industry Promotion Agency, and Gwangju Knowledge Industry Center (I-PLEX). Selected companies will receive up to 25 million KRW in demonstration costs. The Venue Provision type supports companies that urgently need performance verification but face difficulties securing a demonstration site by providing demonstration test venues.

The city will issue a “Demonstration Confirmation Certificate” to companies that successfully complete their demonstrations. In addition, follow-up support such as industrial site tours (technical tours) that invite potential buyers to the demonstration site for promotion, and overseas demonstrations to develop new sales channels, will be provided. For more details, visit the websites of Gwangju City and Gwangju Technopark.

Joo Jaehee, Director of the Economic and Startup Bureau, said, “This year, we plan to significantly expand the types and scale of support to provide more startups with opportunities for high-quality assurance and technology commercialization through demonstration. We will spare no effort in providing various support to ensure the stable growth and enhanced competitiveness of startups.”

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