Number of Laboratory Startups Surpasses 3,850... High-Growth Rate Nine Times That of Ordinary Companies

Average Sales Reach 900 Million Won, Employment Rises to 9.6 per Company

Cumulative Investment Tops 4.5 Trillion Won, with Focus on Bio and Semiconductor Sectors

Startups founded based on research achievements from universities and government-funded research institutes—referred to as "laboratory startups"—are experiencing rapid growth. The proportion of high-growth companies is over nine times higher than that of ordinary companies, and the total amount of investment attracted has surpassed 4.5 trillion won.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of the "2025 Laboratory Startup Survey" analyzing the status of the public research achievement-based startup ecosystem on May 21, 2026.

Startups founded based on research achievements from universities and government-funded research institutes, known as "laboratory startups," are showing rapid growth. The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Provided by Pixabay.

According to the survey, as of the end of 2024, there were a total of 3,850 laboratory startups that had been in operation for less than 10 years. Laboratory startups are companies established using technologies and research achievements generated by research and development institutions such as universities and government-funded institutes.

This survey targeted companies founded between 2015 and 2024 that are still active, and the analysis was conducted by linking business and research databases such as Korea Evaluation Data, THE VC, and the National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS).

By type of founder, startups established by faculty members accounted for the largest share at 1,780 companies (46.2%). This was followed by startups founded based on technology investment or technology transfer at 1,292 companies (33.6%), those founded by researchers at 434 companies (11.3%), and those founded by graduate students at 344 companies (8.9%).

By industry, manufacturing accounted for the highest proportion at 40.5%, followed by professional, scientific and technical services (26.1%), and information and communications (22.6%). A total of 90.8% of all companies belonged to technology-based sectors, such as information and communication technology (ICT) and advanced manufacturing.

"High-Growth Rate 19.5%"... Nine Times That of Ordinary Companies

Notably, among laboratory startups with 10 or more regular employees, the proportion of high-growth companies was 19.5%. This is approximately 9.3 times higher than the high-growth company rate among ordinary active companies (2.1%).

Key Findings of the 2025 Laboratory Startups Survey (Summary). Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

Employment and sales also continued to rise. The average number of employees at laboratory startups increased from 6.9 in 2019 to 9.6 in 2024, and average sales rose from 400 million won to 900 million won during the same period.

The scale of investment attracted also expanded. The cumulative amount of investment raised by 878 companies for which investment information was available totaled 4.5272 trillion won.

By sector, bio and medical fields accounted for the largest share at 53.0%, followed by semiconductors and displays (9.7%), and environment and energy (6.5%).

Lee Eunyoung, Director of Research Achievement Innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "Through this survey, we have confirmed the growth potential of technology startups based on public research achievements," adding, "We will systematically monitor the laboratory startup ecosystem through regular surveys and further strengthen our policy support."

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