The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) discussed ways to expand startup cooperation with the U.K. government, focusing on deep tech fields such as artificial intelligence (AI).
First Vice Minister No Yong-seok of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) met on the 16th with Parliamentary Under Secretary Kaniska Narayan of the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and exchanged views on startup cooperation in deep tech including AI, scale-up support, and ways to link investment with demonstration.
This meeting was the first high-level official meeting between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. As global technological competition accelerates, the two countries sought cooperation among deep tech-based small and venture businesses.
The two sides shared policy tools to support technology-based small businesses and exchanged views on ways to exchange startup support systems and accelerating programs. They also discussed regulatory environments and talent acquisition issues commonly faced during the global scale-up process.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) introduced Korea's global open innovation program and scale-up support policies. It also presented the possibility that the two countries could jointly pursue new technology demonstrations and entry into global markets. They also reviewed a joint nurturing model in which startups participate reciprocally in each country's accelerating programs.
Investment cooperation was also handled as a key agenda item. The two sides looked at expanding investment exchanges using the Europe office of the Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) in London as a base, and examined a cooperation structure that consolidates the U.K.'s venture capital (VC) and corporate venture capital (CVC) ecosystems with Korean deep tech startups.
First Vice Minister No Yong-seok said, "The growth of startups in deep tech fields such as AI is a key task for both Korea and the U.K.," adding, "We expect that the global competitiveness of startups in both countries will rise together through expanded investment cooperation and global scale-up exchanges."