The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on September 9 that it has selected 32 companies to advance to the integrated finals of the 'K-Startup of the Year' competition, which is organized by the ministry's preliminary leagues in artificial intelligence (AI) and innovative startups.
'K-Startup of the Year' is a national startup competition aimed at early-stage companies with less than three years of operation, having previously produced innovative firms such as Lunit Technologies, LD Carbon, and Lion Robotics.
This year, nine ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Education, are operating specialized leagues in various fields, with outstanding companies from each league competing in the integrated finals. A total of 130 teams will advance to the finals.
A total of 344 companies applied for the AI League, while 630 applied for the Innovative Startup League.
After a series of evaluations, the ministry selected 10 companies from the AI League and 22 from the Innovative Startup League, totaling 32 teams for the integrated finals.
The AI League winner is 'Intellisia,' which provides market research solutions based on AI-generated virtual technologies to reduce the time and cost burdens of traditional market research methods.
The Innovative Startup League winner is 'The Ace Company,' which developed a video detection system to prevent accidents in semiconductor wafer processing.
The finalists will participate in the 'K-Startup of the Year Integrated Finals Kickoff Event' on September 22. Following this, 20 selected teams will advance to the grand finals, where winners will receive up to 500 million won in prize money and preferential treatment in subsequent support programs, including the initial startup package.
Moon Seung-hwan, head of the Startup Venture Innovation Division at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “The driving force behind innovation and growth in future new industries, including AI, is the startups that challenge based on new technologies and ideas. It is particularly meaningful to discover promising AI startups through the newly established AI League this year.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.