Samsung Electronics is launching recruitment for the 9th cohort of its open innovation program, C-Lab Outside, to discover and nurture promising startups.
The application period runs from June 15 to 26. Samsung Electronics will select a total of 30 startups across eight fields: AI, digital health, content and services, robotics, materials and components, IoT, mobility, and ESG.
This recruitment will be conducted simultaneously in four regions, including Seoul, Daegu, North Gyeongsang, and Gwangju. Startups with a Korea-based corporation and at Series B or earlier in investment stage are eligible to apply. The final corporations will be announced in November after screening.
C-Lab Outside is a flagship startup acceleration program that expands collaboration opportunities between startups and Samsung Electronics. Selected corporations can explore the potential for real business linkages through business meetings with Samsung Electronics divisions and technology verification (PoC).
Collaboration cases are steadily increasing. Among the 30 corporations selected for the 7th cohort last year, 17 carried out technology verification with Samsung Electronics, and this year's 8th-cohort corporations are pursuing joint projects in various forms.
Config Intelligence, an 8th-cohort corporation, is a specialist in building physical AI data and is working with Samsung Electronics to secure training data for robots. Using its own platform, Human Data Factory, it builds training data so robots can perceive their surroundings and perform tasks like people.
Exarion, a deep-tech corporation developing immersive 3D audio and AI video-processing semiconductor IP, is also discussing business collaboration and technology verification with Samsung Electronics. ImpactiveAI, an 8th-cohort corporation in North Gyeongsang, is continuing its collaboration by carrying out a project with Samsung Electronics to enhance a sales-forecasting model based on AI-driven demand forecasting technology.
Samsung Electronics also offers expert consulting in a range of areas, including technology and product development, organizational operations, and marketing, to support startup growth. It also supports participation in CES, the world's largest consumer electronics and IT show, and VivaTech, Europe's largest startup exhibition, creating opportunities to meet overseas investors, customers, and partners.
It also helps startups grow through various benefits, including up to 1 billion won in business support funds, dedicated office space, and transfers or licenses for Samsung Electronics' patents at no cost.
Lee Byung-chul, head of the Samsung Electronics Creativity and Development Center (executive director), said, "For startups, not only technological prowess but also opportunities to validate it and scale into the market are crucial," adding, "We will provide diverse collaboration opportunities so promising corporations can step onto a larger stage."