The Seoul Business Agency (SBA), led by CEO Kim Hyun-woo, organized the largest-ever Seoul Pavilion at CES 2025, held from January 7 to 10 in Las Vegas. The pavilion, which covered 1,040 square meters, represented the combined efforts of the SBA, three Seoul district offices (Gangnam, Gwanak, and Geumcheon), five startup support organizations, and eight major universities in Seoul.
As part of its efforts to promote global collaboration, SBA brought together startups from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to host the unprecedented “Seoul Innovation Forum” at CES. Held on January 8, the second day of the exhibition, the forum featured a groundbreaking program: the Cross-border Pitching Competition.
The competition involved a cross-border pitch event where each participating nation showcased its best startups. Selected startups presented their ideas on the Seoul Innovation Forum stage and in their respective national pavilions.
Following evaluations by an international panel of media judges, Dutch startup E-Magy B.V. was awarded the Grand Winner title. Japan’s BionicM secured First Runner Up, while Korea’s Apollon received the Second Runner Up honor.
A participating startup representative remarked, “The opportunity to bring together global startups with diverse cultures and technologies to share insights is immensely meaningful. This event has opened new doors for expanding our global reach.”
The participating startups also had opportunities to demonstrate their products and pitch their technologies to visiting global media outlets. The event’s emphasis on startups complemented CES’s traditionally corporate-focused coverage, earning widespread praise from participants.
The forum also featured a Panel Discussion session in which each country shared insights into its startup support programs. Nations recognized for showcasing innovative startups at CES, including South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Taiwan, shared their strategies for fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems.
The participating institutions included the Seoul Business Agency (South Korea), JETRO (Japan), Netherlands Enterprise Agency, SwissTech, and Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA). Over 150 global media outlets attended the forum, further cementing its status as a prestigious event.
Kim Hyun-woo, CEO of SBA, emphasized, “The Seoul Innovation Forum is no longer a one-time event but a cornerstone of global startup networking at CES. SBA will continue to support participating companies in generating sustained success through follow-up initiatives after CES.”
AVING News, which has covered CES for 20 consecutive years, continues to support the global ambitions of Korean SMEs and startups through various initiatives.
Before CES 2025, AVING hosted a series of Global Media Meetups featuring aspiring SMEs in Korea. The Meetups introduced Korean SMEs’ technologies, products, and services to media worldwide, expanding connections between the Korean industry and global media. Geekspin, Ubergizmo, Interesting Engineering, and Le Café du Geek participated in these meetups.
During CES 2025, AVING established the AVING Broadcasting Zone at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, interviewing CES Innovation Award 2025 winners.
Following CES 2025, AVING will co-host a review conference with participating companies in Korea, offering them a platform to gain further recognition and enhance their corporate image.
Special Coverage Team: Joseph Choe, Kidai Kim, Dongkwan Kim, Mokkyung Lee, Sangun Choi, Seung Hyun Nam, Min Choi, Minseok Cha, Myungjin Shin, Gyeongha Lee, Jaeman Lee.