– Over 200 startups flocked together, recording a competition rate of 9 to 1, and agreements with 23 companies completed
– Provision of 70 million won commercialization funding, joint commercialization opportunities with KT business division, etc.
The Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center (hereinafter referred to as Gyeonggi Innovation Center) announced on the 20th that it has finalized the selection of 23 companies to participate in the ‘2021 K-Champ (KT Biz) Collaboration’ (hereinafter referred to as K-Champ Collaboration) and concluded an agreement. The program was carried out with great response, with over 200 startups applying.
K-Champ Collaboration is the representative open innovation program of the Gyeonggi Innovation Center, which started in 2016 and is now in its 6th year. We supported over 90 startup commercialization linkages, including technology verification (PoC), strategic investment, and commercialization, with KT, a dedicated company.
This year, companies were particularly enthusiastic about participating. A total of 215 companies applied for the program, and 23 companies were selected as finalists after overcoming fierce competition with an average of 9 to 1.
The major selected companies include The White Communication (CEO Park Min-young, hereinafter referred to as TWC), which provides ‘Cloudgate’, an artificial intelligence (AI) integrated consulting solution optimized for non-face-to-face work environments. TWC recently signed a business agreement with KT to provide more stable customer care solution services such as cloud telephone consultation (CTI) through this program and is accelerating joint commercialization.
Selected companies such as TWC will be supported with commercialization funds of up to 70 million won, and will be provided with service development opportunities with the goal of joint commercialization and service launch with the KT business department with which they are matched 1:1. In addition, companies can receive support from Gyeonggi Innovation Center’s own programs, such as customized professional accelerating and investment, to help strengthen business models and internal capabilities depending on the business stage of each company. Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Innovation Center plans to strengthen its open innovation function in the second half of this year. A representative of the Gyeonggi Innovation Center said, “We will expand the number of participating group companies, including BMW Group Korea, Nonghyup Economic Holdings, Lotte, and Daekyo, to expand the contact points for collaboration between innovative startups and large domestic and foreign companies.”
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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