The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young) and the Korea Institute of Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Development (Director Kim Yong-moon) held the ‘CES 21 K-Startup Review Seminar’ at the National Assembly Hall on the 2023st (Tuesday) in conjunction with the National Assembly startup research and support group ‘Unicorn Farm’. did.
Unicorn Farm is a National Assembly startup research and support group launched in November 2022, with a total of 11 members participating, led by Rep. Kang Hoon-sik (Democratic Party of Korea) and Rep. Kim Seong-won (People Power Party) as co-representatives, and is preparing measures to support startup growth. It is being actively operated with the goal of:
This seminar was held under the theme ‘What CES 2023 Eureka Park left behind, the direction for Korean tech startups’, and was promoted to share the experiences and achievements of K-startups participating in CES 2023 and seek ways to provide global support. . Accordingly, Nubi Lab, which has developed an AI food scanning solution, also participated in this review seminar as a company that has participated in CES for the past two consecutive years.
Nubi Lab was selected for Innovation Awards in the sustainability and healthcare fields at CES 2022, its first participation. Subsequently, at CES 1 held in January of this year, Nubi Lab presented digital healthcare concepts such as ▲ infant growth management solution ▲ eating habits management solution for chronic disease patients ▲ mobile food diary ▲ food scan API, etc., focusing on its core solution, ‘AI Food Scanner’.
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Gyeong Se-hyun, head of Nubi Lab, who made the presentation, said, “The key to our solution is to identify the type, amount, and nutritional content of food with a single scan through artificial intelligence (AI),” and added, “The excellence of its technology will be demonstrated at the 2021 exhibition. In recognition of its innovation and vision, it was selected for innovation awards in two fields. “This year, we received a lot of attention and expectations, including placing third in the K-STARTUP Global Media Awards.”
Director Kyeong explains that Nubi Lab’s AI food scanner technology is largely used in two fields. He said, “The first is group meal service. “Previously, we relied on the experience of nutritionists to estimate the amount of leftover food and leftover food, but our solution accurately measures and dataizes the amount of food thrown away,” he said. “We are reducing the amount of food waste by realizing automation and efficiency of meal service.” “It is effective in reducing costs from an average of 25% to as much as 30%,” he added.
He continued, “Secondly, it is highly valuable as a solution for strict diet management, such as for patients with chronic diseases, athletes, and dieters,” adding, “When you take a photo with a mobile application, you can immediately see various data, including the nutritional ingredients of the food.” “We boast excellent convenience by providing services that allow for convenience,” he emphasized.
By presenting these versatile solutions at CES 2023, Nubi Lab achieved the achievement of discovering as many as 132 business partners. Director Kyung said, “Negotiations related to the contract have been delayed for about three months,” adding, “In particular, we are conducting PoCs with global companies with branches in Korea, including ‘Aramark,’ a global company with over 3 food service facilities around the world.” “We are in the process of signing a contract and preparing to negotiate with the U.S. Army,” he said.
Nubi Lab then presented a new direction for startup support measures implemented at the national level. Director Kyung said, “The biggest difficulty for startups in developing businesses with new ideas is securing references, but the reality is that the government’s budget support for this is insufficient,” adding, “The contribution of startups in the public sector is also low.” “Means must be put in place to guarantee a certain level of profit while increasing profits, and this is expected to serve as a basis for expanding the scope in the domestic and overseas markets in the future,” he said.
In addition, the need to simplify the licensing process was also emphasized. Director Kyung said, “Depending on the business field, startups have obligations and responsibilities to obtain licenses from various government ministries, such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.” He added, “However, in this process, the data and forms required by each ministry vary greatly. “There are many cases where confusion arises due to differences in work, and I hope that the system will be improved in this area as well,” he said.
Nubi Lab plans to expand its business and continue to grow based on the results achieved through CES 2023. Director Kyung said, “This year, we plan to secure additional B2B customers in the public sector such as local governments and schools in Korea, and the National Assembly Unicorn Farm, which participated in today’s event, is also providing a lot of help in this regard.” He added, “At the same time, each manufacturer’s home appliances “We are also actively seeking collaboration with large companies, such as requesting discussions to introduce our technology.”
Meanwhile, ‘CES’, the world’s largest IT exhibition, is an exhibition where you can understand the trends of the global home appliance industry at a glance. Hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), it is held every January in Las Vegas, USA. A total of 1 companies participated in this year’s CES, of which Korea ranked second in the world with 3,200 company booths. In addition, among the 598 companies that participated in Eureka Park, a mecca for startups, 2 domestic startups ranked first in the world (1,000 in France and 355 in the United States).