The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 9th that it selected corporations to advance to the cross-ministerial integrated main round through the "K-Startup of the Year" AI league and innovation startup league.
K-Startup of the Year is a cross-ministerial startup competition for early-stage startups within three years of founding, and it has established itself as the "gateway to K-Startups," producing innovative corporations such as Wrtn Technologies, LDCARBON, and Lion Robotics.
K-Startup of the Year is run with nine ministries operating specialized leagues by field, and excellent corporations from each league competing in the cross-ministerial integrated main round. This year, a total of 130 teams will advance to the integrated main round.
Keeping pace with the globally accelerating growth of AI corporations, the newly established AI league this year drew applications from 344 corporations, and a variety of startup items using AI technology were submitted.
By type of startup item, "specialized AI solutions" used in specific fields such as content and education and bio and health were the most common at 50.9%, followed by "general-purpose AI solutions" used across various fields at 30.8%. "AI infrastructure," which underpins the development and operation of AI technology and services such as system software, accounted for 12.5%, and "physical AI," which combines hardware and AI, accounted for 5.8%.
The AI league was evaluated through document and in-person reviews with AI experts and investment and management experts participating together, and 10 corporations were selected to advance to the integrated main round. Corporations at the top of the evaluation results are awarded certificates and prize money along with the opportunity to advance to the integrated main round.
The AI league championship (grand prize) went to "Intellicia," which provides a market research solution based on technology for AI-generated virtual "synthetic consumers" to reduce the time and expense burden of conventional market research methods that recruit actual consumers. The runner-up (excellence award) was "Aidall," which is developing a solution that prevents malfunctions of physical AI using neuro-symbolic AI technology.
The innovation startup league, which is open to innovative startups across all fields, received applications from 630 corporations. Through regional preliminaries organized by 17 Creative Economy Innovation Centers nationwide, 66 promising corporations by region were first selected, and after comprehensive preliminaries, a final 22 corporations were chosen to advance to the integrated main round.
The innovation startup league championship (grand prize) went to "The Ace Company," which developed a video detection system to prevent semiconductor wafer process accidents based on experience accumulated over a long period in the semiconductor industry. The runner-up (excellence award) was "Dear Onion," an AI agent corporation that supports restaurant industry ingredient ordering to be handled conveniently and quickly.
Including the corporations selected this time, the 130 teams selected through the ministry-specific leagues will gather at the "K-Startup of the Year Integrated Main Round Kickoff Event" to be held on the 22nd, share their experiences and ideas, and begin the full-fledged integrated main schedule. After that, 20 corporations finally selected in the cross-ministerial integrated main round will advance to the grand championship, and the corporations awarded in the grand championship will receive up to 500 million won in prize money along with preferential benefits when selected for follow-up support programs, such as the Initial Startup Package.
Mok Seung-hwan, director general for Startup Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "The protagonists leading innovation and growth in future new industries, including AI, are startups that take on challenges based on new technologies and ideas," adding, "It is especially meaningful that we were able to discover promising AI startups through the AI league newly established this year."