This demo day was not just a simple showcase; it also included judging and Q&A, which made it a much richer experience. It was especially impressive that operators who directly manage agri-food funds took part, so the actual investment rate was higher than other accelerators (AC). It was also notable that even after the demo day, there would be opportunities through mentoring to meet follow-on investors.
Lim Hee-su, head of Limpid, who attended the "2025 FAST TRACK agri-food demo day" hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and The Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT) and organized by CNT Tech and ChosunBiz, said this on the 3rd. Limpid is a Start - Up that manufactures and sells general and prescription freeze-dried pet food.
The "FAST TRACK agri-food demo day" is an event where corporations participating in an agri-food technology startup accelerating program present their products and services to investors and the public. About 60 people, including agri-food Start - Ups, fund managers, corporate venture capital (CVC), and venture capital (VC) investment professionals, attended the event.
At the event, four promising Start - Ups were selected based on corporate capabilities, marketability, business capabilities, technological merit, and ripple effect.
The grand prize went to Robus (global agricultural variety intellectual property rights transaction and management solution), the top excellence award to Biomoa Medical (K Rice Diet solution), and the excellence awards to Limpid and SM HACCP (AI-based digital transformation platform for food manufacturing).
Attending corporations said this demo day was a meaningful occasion to share each other's growth. Kang Ji-young, head of Roboarte, which develops and sells cooking robots, said, "I was surprised that many corporations participating in today's demo day are generating significant sales even though they are in the accelerating stage," adding, "It was an opportunity to break preconceptions about corporations at the accelerating stage."
VC judges who took part pointed to "technological differentiation" as the biggest strength of the demo day.
Gu Tae-hun, CEO of Mineta Brook Ventures, said, "With technology startups as the core keyword, the technological differentiation was clear compared with existing agri-food demo days," and noted, "It was impressive that many Start - Ups combined strengths in the agri-food field with technological strengths."
He added, "If a Start - Up can clearly present a vision to use investment funds to shore up a corporation's weaknesses and maximize strengths, it can certainly lead to investment."
Participants said they hoped this demo day would continue to develop.
Jin Bong-gyun, head of Rice Value, said, "I hope more agri-food Start - Ups will take part so more specialized demo days can be held, and that meetings with food-focused VCs will lead to deeper discussions and tangible investments."
Jeon Hwa-sung, head of CNT Tech, said, "Every head who took part in today's event more than deserved the grand prize," adding, "We will continue reviewing with investment professionals so every Start - Up that took part can receive investment." He added, "Going forward, CNT Tech will keep discovering better corporations and investing in them."