SK ecoplant announced on the 4th that it held an awards ceremony for a technology contest targeting semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) startups.
The 'Tech Open Collaboration' awards ceremony, held that day at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, recognized a total of seven startups as the final award-winning companies.
The awarded companies are ▲ Enhightech Co., Ltd. (technology for semiconductor water production and process wastewater reuse treatment) ▲ Quantumcat Co., Ltd. (catalytic technology for greenhouse gas reduction utilizing nanoscale structure control) ▲ Mobilio Co., Ltd. (construction quality improvement solution utilizing quadruped walking robots) ▲ LK Robotics Co., Ltd. (AI-based robotic systems compatible with CCTV) ▲ Eight Tech Co., Ltd. (smart resource recovery solution using AI and robots) ▲ Binding Co., Ltd. (building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) for urban solar power) ▲ Incle Co., Ltd. (real-time shape measurement system for JCO structural steel plate molding process).
This year marks the 5th Tech Open Collaboration, an innovation technology contest for startups organized and implemented by SK ecoplant since 2021. It aims to discover startups with innovative technologies in the semiconductor and AI fields, award them, and support collaboration in technology advancement, commercialization, and overall business growth and competitiveness.
Co-organizers, including SK ecoplant, the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), the Korea Innovation Foundation, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, KAIST, Hoseo University, Hannam University, SK Securities, and Korea Science and Technology Holdings, participate in operating the contest and engage in joint research and development with the awarded companies.
Joint research and development will be carried out with SK ecoplant and its affiliated companies. Following the technology advancement, collaboration is expected in commercialization as well. Additionally, the participating public, research, and investment institutions plan to support government funding and investment attraction.
Kim Hyung-keun, president of SK ecoplant, noted, "I expect a synergy of open innovation with the startups discovered through this contest," and added, "We will continue to work towards building a sustainable industrial ecosystem with startups and small and medium-sized enterprises."