New Paradigm Investment, an accelerator fostering innovative startups, announced on the 3rd that it is recruiting innovative startups eligible to receive up to 5 billion won through the '2025 first half baby unicorn growth program.'
Now in its 5th year, the 'baby unicorn growth program' is New Paradigm's flagship accelerating program tailored for early-stage corporations. It proactively discovers startups with high growth potential, providing funding support and tailored mentoring, and has laid the groundwork for them to stand out in domestic and international markets.
Last year, New Paradigm invested 6 billion won in new and follow-up investments in 14 startups and succeeded in attracting follow-up investments of about 70 billion won. Additionally, eight corporations recommended to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS program were selected 100% for TIPS, resulting in a cumulative total of 34 selected corporations, which attracted a total of 19 billion won in government grants.
Startups selected through this baby unicorn growth program can receive funding support of up to 5 billion won. The main key support details include ▲ initial investment of up to 500 million won ▲ recommendation for technological advancement under TIPS ranging from 500 million to 700 million won ▲ deep tech TIPS recommendation with support of 1.5 billion won.
In addition, ongoing funding support will be provided according to growth indicators, including ▲ follow-up investments of up to 1 billion won ▲ connected investments of 2 billion won. New Paradigm will provide not only investments but also strategic support for startups' technological development and market expansion.
The recruitment target is early-stage startups with innovative business items that possess verified business indicators of Proof of Concept (PoC) within three years of operation. The business must have at least three months remaining in its validity period from the point of application.
The recruitment fields include various fourth industrial sectors such as ICT (AI, B2B, SaaS, digital transformation, etc.), commerce (specialized markets), silver tech, sports tech, as well as deep tech fields such as digital healthcare, smart robots, and generative AI.
Park Je-hyun, co-CEO of New Paradigm, noted, 'We will wholeheartedly support more corporations to demonstrate competitiveness not only domestically but also in the global market through the baby unicorn growth program.'
The recruitment period runs from Feb. 3, 2025, to May 2, 2025. More details and application methods can be found on the official website of New Paradigm Investment.