On the 23rd, the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) announced that 21 corporations supported by it received innovation awards at the world's largest IT and electronics exhibition, CES 2025.
From July 7 to 10, the SBA operated the 'CES 2025 Seoul Integrated Hall' within Eureka Park, a specialized exhibition hall for startups at CES 2025. This venue included 104 startups supported by the SBA, as well as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (127 corporations), Busan City (23 corporations), and the Gyeonggi Provincial Economic Science Promotion Agency (17 corporations), among others.
Out of the 104 corporations exhibited in the Seoul Integrated Hall supported by the SBA, 21 won the 'CES 2025 Innovation Award.' An SBA official noted, "This is a remarkable achievement compared to the award results of other support institutions and local governments, such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (12 corporations), Busan City (6 corporations), and the Gyeonggi Provincial Economic Science Promotion Agency (2 corporations)."
Behind this unprecedented award achievement was the active support of the SBA. To ensure a successful exhibition and awards, it provided 'CES Innovation Award consulting' to participating corporations, matching them one-on-one with expert consultants for close support.
This consulting program, now in its third year, provided not just basic document reviews but also in-depth feedback from experts and systematic strategies for winning awards.
Additionally, to expand the global network of participating corporations and promote them, the SBA hosted the 'Seoul Innovation Forum' for the first time, with five countries collaborating since the inception of CES. At this event, attended by about 200 people, participating corporations had the opportunity to build networks for global business expansion and promote their businesses.
The five key countries participating in CES (startup support agencies) are ▲South Korea (SBA) ▲Japan (JETRO) ▲Netherlands (Netherlands Enterprise Agency) ▲Switzerland (SwissTech) ▲Taiwan (Telecommunications Technology Association). As a result of the IR pitching by excellent startups from the five countries, the Dutch corporation 'E-Magy B.V.' won first place, followed by Japan's 'Bionic' in second, and South Korea's 'Apollon' in third.
A notable exhibition achievement of the CES 2025 Seoul Integrated Hall was the unprecedented exchange meetings of technologies among participating startups.
During the exhibition period, a total of 1,779 business consultations were conducted, approximately 18% more than the previous year. Various types of consultations, including attracting overseas investment, exporting products, and building networks, were conducted, along with a total of 107 consultations for technology exchanges. Additionally, participating corporations secured a total of eight memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for technology exchanges on-site.
Kim Hyun-woo, head of the SBA, said, "The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), as its name suggests, is fundamentally a show that showcases the products, technologies, and visions of corporations." He added, "In the future, the SBA will continue to present new programs, such as global investor relations and media networking, where the innovation of Seoul startups can shine on the CES stage."