CNTtech announced on the 23rd that a total of 79 companies were selected for TIPS (Technology Incubator Program for Startups) this year, achieving the highest annual selection record.
TIPS is a private investment-led technology startup support program hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and selected companies can receive up to 700 million won in government support.
Since last year, to foster startups in future innovation sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and aerospace, a new program called 'Deep Tech TIPS', which provides three times the funding compared to regular TIPS, has been established and is currently in operation.
Since 2016, CNTtech has co-operated as a TIPS operation company with the KAIST Youth Startup Investment Holdings until 2018, and has transitioned to a sole TIPS operation company since 2019, currently managing both the regular and Deep Tech TIPS programs.
TIPS operation companies discover promising startups, recommend them for the TIPS program after initial investment and nurturing, and allocate recommendation rights annually based on the previous year's performance.
This year, CNTtech recorded its highest performance by matching a total of 79 TIPS through 73 direct recommendations and 6 indirect recommendations. This marks a success in matching 233 companies in both the regular and Deep Tech TIPS over 9 years.
Just in December this year, a total of 25 matches were made, including 1 case of Deep Tech. With 4 companies still to announce their retry presentations among the recommended companies, the final matching number for December could rise to a maximum of 29, potentially setting a record of 83 matches for the year.
CEO Jeon Hae-seong noted, "Accelerators play a key role in the success and growth of startups, and it is important to help startups efficiently secure the resources they need from the early stages." He added, "We will continue to lead the support for the TIPS program for the growth of technology startups and actively support promising startups in scaling up and expanding globally in line with the new 'TIPS Next' strategy."