CJ Group Opens Recruitment for 3rd Batch of Startup Support Open Innovation Platform 'Oventus'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] CJ Group is operating an open innovation platform to secure differentiated future innovative technologies and support the growth of startups and the activation of the industrial ecosystem.

CJ announced on the 10th that it is recruiting companies to participate in the 3rd term of ‘O!VentUs (Open+Venture+Us)’ until the 31st of this month.

Co-hosted with the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, the 3rd term of ‘O!VentUs’ is a program that discovers small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, and research institutes with excellent technological capabilities and supports joint technology development and commercialization with CJ CheilJedang, CJ Logistics, CJ ENM, CJ OliveNetworks, CJ LiveCity, CJ Powercast, and others. The recruitment target is companies with technologies and business models suitable for each field, and applications can be submitted via the official O!VentUs email.

The contest fields are divided into five categories: Food Tech, Logistics, Entertainment & Media, Digital Transformation, and Group Common, selecting up to eight companies and providing each team with 10 million KRW in commercialization support funds.

Separately, at the ‘Demo Day,’ which is a presentation of business performance and plans, one team recognized for excellence will receive 10 million KRW, and two teams awarded the grand prize will each receive 5 million KRW. Additionally, benefits such as extra points for selection of office space at the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, recommendation points for the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund’s 'Start-up NEST' and Shinhan Financial Group’s 'Shinhan Futures Lab,' and pitching opportunities at KDB Industrial Bank’s 'Next Round' Special IR Day will be provided.

A mentoring group composed of practical experts from each CJ Group affiliate and external experts will lead capacity building for collaborative projects through two months of coaching, and companies presenting differentiated solutions will build continuous cooperative relationships through joint technology development and investment.

The group affiliates participating in this 3rd term recruitment are attracting attention by selecting themes that can lead the future. First, CJ CheilJedang plans to continuously collaborate by discovering partners with ‘AI-based social buzz data collection and analysis technology for food trend prediction,’ and CJ Logistics will seek partners with ‘automatic product property recognition technology from images taken during parcel cargo transport.’

Furthermore, CJ ENM aims for commercialization through ‘innovative technologies and new business models across content planning, production, and distribution,’ CJ OliveNetworks targets cooperation in ‘defect pattern analysis technology in quality, packaging, and manufacturing processes using AI machine vision,’ CJ LiveCity plans ‘new leisure/play experiences and digital personalization service commercialization,’ and CJ Powercast intends to actively cooperate on ‘experiential non-face-to-face/unmanned technologies in exhibition halls and theme parks.’

Leading with ‘O!VentUs,’ CJ Group has supported about 270 companies in the first half of this year through collaboration with startups in various fields, achieving 235 new jobs created and 11 billion KRW in investment attraction as of the end of last year.

Lee Jae-hoon, team leader of CJ’s Win-Win Innovation Team, said, “We are continuously seeking opportunities for mutual growth through an organic cooperation model with startups that will innovate lifestyles based on AI and big data,” adding, “We will continue to expand the business through the participation of various affiliates in the future.”