SK Telecom said on the 24th that it will run a dedicated pavilion for innovative startups in artificial intelligence (AI) and ESG at 4YFN (4 Years from Now), a side event of the world's largest mobile communications show MWC26, to support their global fundraising and market expansion. 4YFN is an expo that discovers and supports promising startups with the potential to join the main MWC exhibition four years from now.
This year's 4YFN will run for four days from Mar. 2 to 5 (local time) in Hall 8.1 of Fira Gran via in Barcelona, Spain, where MWC26 is being held.
At this year's 4YFN, SK Telecom will set up a dedicated pavilion for startups and present collaboration cases and innovative technologies with 15 promising startups in AI and ESG. The 15 are Mesacuer Company, BearingLab, BROZ, Stress Solution, SixtyHertz, Enerzai, Aeris, AIV, Yuqhehan Project, Inbelab, Chilloen, Coxwave, Connexi, Qubic, and For Natures.
SK Telecom first operated a dedicated startup pavilion at 4YFN in 2019 and has participated every year since, except for 2020 and 2021 when it skipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this pavilion carries the theme "SKTCH Today, Change Tomorrow," reflecting a shared-growth vision to create "tomorrow's change" with startups through collaborations that span AI innovation technologies and environmental and social values. SKTCH is a portmanteau of SKT, meaning SK Telecom, and Tech, and is SK Telecom's collaboration platform to strengthen partnerships with startups.
The exhibition will showcase AI technologies already being applied to real industries and daily life across areas such as security, space, and content.
Mesacuer Company supplies identity verification technology to financial and public institutions, as well as the three mobile carriers' PASS app, based on its facial recognition AI solution UFACE. BROZ provides a space-specialized AI solution that digitally implements offline spaces through AI technology that automatically generates 3D spaces. Coxwave offers consulting to improve AI services based on user behavior data using its AI product analytics platform Align, and at the 2025 SK AI Summit co-hosted the Claude Code Builder Hackathon with SK Telecom and Anthropic.
Also participating are BearingLab, which offers an AI solution specialized for legal translation; Enerzai, which developed the AI inference optimization engine Optimum; AIV, which develops decentralized GPU cloud technology; Aeris, which developed a security AI X-ray scanner; Chilloen, which operates an AI music creation platform; Connexi, which provides a data storage platform based on IPFS (distributed storage); and Qubic, which provides synthetic data for AI analysis and training.
Startups in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) that address environmental and social issues with technology will also join this exhibition.
Stress Solution provides Healing Beat, a personalized stress management solution based on biometric data analysis, and has offered stress and sleep management solutions to the SK Knights team. SixtyHertz provides an AI-based solution for predicting and managing renewable energy generation and has participated in developing SK Telecom's virtual power plant (VPP) map to improve energy management efficiency. Also showcasing innovative technologies are Yuqhehan Project, which operates an AI-based mental health management solution; Inbelab, which provides natural ecosystem restoration and management solutions using remote-sensing multimodal data; and For Natures, which develops eco-friendly carbon reduction and air purification technologies.
Beyond the exhibition, on the 4th (local time) in Barcelona, SK Telecom will host a fundraising briefing session for startups, inviting officials from major European venture capital (VC) firms. Seven startups, including Mesacuer Company, Stress Solution, SixtyHertz, Aeris, AIV, Yuqhehan Project, and Qubic, will take part to present their technologies and business potential to global investors.
Um Jong-hwan, head of ESG at SK Telecom, said, "We prepared a dedicated pavilion at this MWC26 4YFN to showcase the technologies and collaboration achievements of innovative startups to the world," adding, "We will continue to provide practical support as a reliable partner to promising domestic startups."