The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 8th (local time) that it held a roundtable in San Francisco with seven innovative artificial intelligence (AI) startups that took part in the "Super-gap Startup Global IR in Silicon Valley," discussing support measures for startups' global expansion and ways to identify new policies.
The roundtable was held to hear AI startups' global expansion plans and gather their suggestions on difficulties and global support policies. It was also intended to prepare related policies so AI startups can grow into global unicorns.
The roundtable began with a presentation on global expansion plans by Kim Jae-pil, chief executive of AidAll. The discussion covered on-site policy needs such as one-stop support policies for entering overseas markets, expansion of research and development (R&D) for deep-tech startups, and formation of a dedicated investment council composed of global venture capital (VC), among others.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has held the "Super-gap Startup Global IR" event since 2023 in places including Silicon Valley to support the global expansion of super-gap deep-tech startups with new technologies such as AI and system semiconductors.
The local event will be held at the Plug and Play Tech Center, featuring reverse pitching by State Governments from six U.S. states including Arizona and a panel talk on the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem.
About 100 participants will attend, including global corporations such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), U.S. State Governments, overseas VC and corporate venture capital (CVC), and accelerators (AC). They will listen to corporate presentations by top Korean deep-tech startups and take part in networking.
Noh Yong-seok, first vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "For AI startups to grow, securing demand in the global market and attracting investment are essential," adding, "We will fully reflect the suggestions and make every effort to help domestic AI startups grow into unicorns through global expansion."