LG Unveils First Platform to Nurture University Startup Teams... Aims to Foster "Baby Unicorns"

"Superstart Day" Held on April 22
Expanding the Youth Startup Ecosystem
Outstanding Teams to Begin Collaboration Projects with LG

LG is promoting youth entrepreneurship through its "Rookie Program," which selects and nurtures startup teams from universities.

On April 23, LG announced that it had held "Superstart Day 2026," an event for discovering and fostering startups, at Magok LG Science Park. The event gathered innovative technologies from startups in a wide range of fields, including "ABC" (AI, Bio, and Cleantech)—which CEO Koo Kwangmo has identified as LG’s future businesses—as well as robotics, the space industry, and data centers.

Bongseok Kwon, LG COO (second from right), and Suheon Jung, CEO of LG Science Park (first from right), are observing a startup's technology demonstration on the 22nd at the "Superstart Day 2026." LG

"Superstart Day" is a startup development and support program that began in 2018 alongside the launch of LG Science Park in Magok, LG’s innovation hub for research and development (R&D). This year’s event was attended by key figures such as LG Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kwon Bongseok, Jung Suheon, CEO of LG Science Park, and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) from eight major affiliates. In addition, public institutions, venture capitalists (VCs), accelerators (ACs), and universities participated to explore the business potential and scalability of the latest technologies.

This year’s Superstart Day saw a significant increase in innovative startups in the robotics sector. ▲ "Quester," which won the CES Innovation Award at the world’s largest electronics and IT exhibition last year as well as the APEC Best Award, introduced "MotiGlove," a solution that converts human hand movements into high-precision physical data, allowing robots to learn sophisticated manipulations. ▲ "Romantic Robotics," founded by PhDs in mechanical and electrical engineering from Seoul National University, unveiled technology that enables robots to understand and handle the deformability of unstructured objects such as paper, boxes, and tape with precision.

Various innovative technologies in the ABC fields, which CEO Koo has identified as LG’s future businesses, were also presented. ▲ "Sinsungo," which started as an in-house venture at LG Electronics and later spun off, drew attention with its high-efficiency cooling solution based on foldable vacuum insulation (FVI) and modular cold storage technology, which can be widely applied to compact AI data centers and smart farms. ▲ "Labincube," selected last year by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as a "Baby Unicorn" (an innovative company valued at less than 100 billion won), attracted attention for being the world’s first to apply carbon-reducing materials such as MOFs (metal-organic frameworks), which won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year, to air purifiers.

Visitors attending the ‘Superstart Day 2026’ are watching demonstrations of startup technologies. LG

This year, LG launched the "Rookie Program" for university startup teams at Superstart Day, providing a platform for young entrepreneurs to present their ideas, attract investment, and expand business partnerships. By identifying the seeds of innovation early and supporting the growth of young people who choose entrepreneurship, LG aims to enhance not only its own technological competitiveness but also that of the broader industry.

Regardless of final selection, LG will continue to support all university startup teams participating in the event with LG technology mentoring and on-site field tours. In addition, starting next year, LG plans to further expand the scale of the Rookie Program to serve as a catalyst for the spread of youth entrepreneurship.

Jung Suheon, CEO of LG Science Park, said, "LG is advancing future technologies based on our 'Winning Tech' R&D strategy to create new customer value. With the newly launched Rookie Program, we will identify and nurture young, innovative startups at an early stage and build LG’s unique, differentiated innovation ecosystem."

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