"AI Unicorns Nurtured with 1 Trillion-Won Investment"... Investment Matching Accelerated at IR Day

Ministry of Science and ICT Expands Public-Private Investment Funds
Comprehensive Support Including GPUs and Data Distribution

The Ministry of Science and ICT will support AI startups in their leap towards becoming unicorns by leveraging joint public-private investment funds worth over 1 trillion won. The government’s strategy is to establish a structure that connects promising companies it discovers with private sector investors, thereby facilitating actual investments.

On April 23, the Ministry of Science and ICT, together with the National IT Industry Promotion Agency and the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association, held the '2026 K-AI Champions IR Day' at COEX in Seoul. This event was organized to directly connect startups, which have been vetted through AI and ICT competitions, with investors.

Overview of the 'AI Startup Development and Support Policy.' Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

Currently, the government has secured investment funds totaling approximately 1.2 trillion won through the AI Innovation Fund and the Korea IT Fund (KIF), and plans to expand this to 1.98 trillion won by June. The event is significant in that it serves as an opportunity to translate these investment resources into actual execution.

"Verification → Investment → Growth"... Full-cycle Support for AI Startups

At the event, six AI startups selected through the competition participated and presented their technological capabilities and global strategies in front of about 150 investment professionals. On-site, venture capital (VC) assessments were conducted, and individual investment discussions for each company also took place.

The government’s policy is not limited to simply selecting startups, but aims to strengthen a structure that links verification and investment, thereby promoting the practical growth of deep tech startups. One-on-one mentoring and follow-up investment connections for early-stage companies will be enhanced, and support for overseas expansion and global consulting will also be provided.

In addition, more than 4,000 out of a total of 10,000 GPUs will be allocated to startups and other organizations, and the AI development environment will be improved through the distribution of domestically produced NPUs, data vouchers, and the establishment of data centers.

Ryu Jemyoung, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, said, "We will strengthen our support so that outstanding AI startups can achieve tangible investment outcomes," adding, "We will institutionalize our investment linkage programs to continuously foster companies with global competitiveness."

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