Ministry of SMEs and Startups Recruiting AI Startups for 'Investment-Linked Global Expansion Program'

20 AI Startups Within 10 Years of Founding to Be Selected
Support Includes Local Proof of Concept in the US and Investment IR Sessions

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that starting from March 31, it will recruit startup companies to participate in the "2026 Investment-Linked GMEP (Global Market Entry Program)" in order to intensively support promising domestic AI startups in scaling up globally and attracting overseas private investment.

This program has been established to facilitate investment attraction for AI (Artificial Intelligence) startups seeking to expand overseas. The program targets 20 startups in the AI industry that have been established for less than 10 years and are aiming for overseas expansion or investment.

The Ministry will operate a specialized program focused on "investment attraction." Whereas the existing GMEP program has served as a stepping stone for overseas expansion by focusing on building local networks and verifying product-market fit (PMF), the investment-linked GMEP will concentrate on connecting startups with overseas investors who are capable of making actual investments.

Selected companies will receive approximately 80 million won in funding for global expansion, participate in a five-week local program in the United States, undergo overseas proof of concept (PoC) to verify the technological capabilities of their AI products and services, and have at least three opportunities to participate in local investment IR sessions.

Ten companies will be selected through recommendations from host organizations and overseas investors, and another ten companies will be chosen through an open call. AI startups wishing to apply through the open call can submit their applications online via the K-Startup website starting March 31. An offline startup information session will be held at Orange Planet on April 9.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has been operating the "Global Accelerating (GMEP)" program to support tailored overseas expansion for startups by industry and sector. Last year, a separate track called the AI-specialized Global Accelerating (GMEP) program was piloted. The eight participating companies achieved results such as 2.3 billion won in sales, 10.9 billion won in investment attraction, and seven overseas partnerships.

Cho Kyungwon, Director of Startup Policy, said, "Given the intensifying global competition in the AI field, it is extremely important to provide a foundation for capable domestic AI startups to expand and compete overseas," and added, "We will provide full support so that our AI startups can establish themselves in the global market."

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