(From left) Mike Kim, Head of Google Startup Campus in the Asia-Pacific Region, Karen Pfister, Global Director of Google Startup, Joy Sakurai, Deputy Chief of the Embassy of the United States in Korea, Lim Jeong-wook, Head of the Startup and Venture Innovation Department at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Kim Kyung-hoon, President of Google Korea./Courtesy of Google Korea

Google's startup support program 'Google Startup Campus Seoul' marks its 10th anniversary this year. Over the past decade, domestic startups that have received support from Google have raised a total of 1.4 trillion won (approximately $1.07 billion). Google stated, 'We will actively support Korean startups to expand into the global market, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI).'

On the 17th, the Google Startup Campus in Gangnam, Seoul, was bustling from 9 a.m. This was due to the attendance of domestic and international startup officials for the 'Startup Artificial Intelligence (AI) Festival.' More than 1,300 people applied for the event.

Google Startup Campus Seoul opened in 2015 to support the Korean startup ecosystem. It is the third of its kind globally and the first in Asia. It supports exchanges, mentoring, education, and technology infrastructure for startups. In addition to Seoul, Google has campuses in Madrid, São Paulo, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo.

Karen Pfister, Global Director of Google Startup Campus, noted, 'Startups that have passed through Google Campus have formed a community of about 50,000 people and have raised over $1 billion to date. Since AI is a core technology of the future entrepreneurial ecosystem, we will serve as a solid stepping stone for promising Korean entrepreneurs to succeed on the global stage based on Google products, people, and expertise.'

Karen Pfister, Global Director of Google Startup./Courtesy of Google Korea

According to Google, domestic startups supported by Google Startup Campus have raised over 1.4 trillion won in cumulative investments, and the number of people they directly employed was 5,136.

Numerous outstanding graduates have emerged. Wanted Lab, a human resources (HR) tech corporation, and Liner, an AI corporation, are representative success stories of startups. Lee Bok-ki, the CEO of Wanted Lab, and Woo Chan-min, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Liner, shared their entrepreneurial experiences at the event. CEO Lee stated, 'After the game between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol in 2016, I felt the necessity for proprietary data.' He advised, 'It is important for AI services to provide belief and trust helping to understand and solve the customer's problems.' COO Woo remarked, 'Startups must place the customer's problems at the center and promote AI strategies.'

Next, Arushi Selvan, a product manager at Google DeepMind, and former Google Vice President and current venture investor Bradley Horowitz discussed the future of AI product development.

Within the event space, domestic AI startups such as 'AI for Pet', 'Smoretalk', and 'Hudson AI'—all graduates of the Google AI Academy and Google for Startups Accelerator program—operated exhibition booths introducing applications utilizing Google's AI model Gemini.

This Startup AI Festival is expected to continue with the 'Startup AI Pocha Tour,' which will tour major cities across the country, including Busan and Gyeongju, from next month until September. The tour aims to directly provide local communities with Google's AI technology and entrepreneurial know-how, actively supporting the growth of the local startup ecosystem.

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