POSCO Group (POSCO Holdings) said on the 30th that it is carrying out activities to support venture corporations to lead future technology innovation and to put into practice the philosophy that "technology is the future of a top-tier corporation."
Notably, POSCO in Aug. formed the "POSCO corporate venture capital (CVC) No. 1 fund" worth 50 billion won and is focusing investment on venture corporations that hold core technologies linked to POSCO's future growth strategy.
It invests in promising venture corporations with technologies such as digital transformation (DX), energy saving, carbon reduction, and renewable energy, and 20% of the fund is invested in overseas corporations to strengthen links with the global innovation ecosystem.
POSCO also plans to promote cooperation in various forms, such as jointly pushing research, development, and demonstration projects with investee companies, and directly introducing the investee's products and technologies into POSCO business units.
POSCO is also supporting the revitalization of venture startups based on industry-academia-research cooperation through the venture support team launched in Aug. last year. POSCO's venture support team consists of 55 researchers with master's and doctoral degrees.
The support team provided 31 technical consultations last year, including support for building smart factories and robot automation, for 16 corporations. This year, it is also providing technical consultation to 11 corporations in the composite materials and secondary battery materials sectors.
In addition, POSCO is operating Changeup Ground Pohang, a venture platform. Changeup Ground is a venture incubating space that opened in 2017 inside Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH with an investment of about 83 billion won.
It was designated the first non-capital-region public-private partnership TIPS Town, and 81 corporations are currently in residence. The resident companies' corporate value alone amounts to 1.4857 trillion won, and 1,045 people are working there.
POSCO said, "We will continue to strengthen cooperation with local small and medium-sized corporations and venture corporations that possess promising technologies, lead technology innovation such as low-carbon and smart manufacturing processes, and take a leap forward as a top-tier corporation."