[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] It has been argued that in order to promote cooperation and coexistence between domestic startups and large and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to develop the startup ecosystem, opportunities for demonstration PoC (Proof-of-Concept) to actually test innovative technologies and related support must be further expanded.
Demonstration PoC provides startups with opportunities to demonstrate by utilizing actual complex multi-facility or internal and external systems of large corporations as testbeds, integrating and applying new technologies and innovative solutions that are not yet commercialized.
In a survey on demonstration PoC testbeds conducted by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) in early November targeting 311 domestic startups, 87.5% of respondent companies answered "necessary" to the question "How necessary is demonstration PoC for developing new technologies and products?" In particular, startups with past demonstration PoC experience (90.9%) and early-stage startups with sales under 1 billion KRW (92.8%) showed a greater need for demonstration PoC.
The most cited reason for needing demonstration PoC was "securing business references and track records with other companies" (48%), followed by "judging whether to launch products through usability demonstration" (27.5%) and "technology supplementation" (19.4%).
However, difficulties in promoting demonstration PoC were reported due to challenges such as "lack of budget and manpower" (63.9%), "securing demonstration PoC opportunities" (48.5%), and "issues with regulatory and legal applications" (24.5%).
As partners for conducting demonstration PoC, "government and public institutions" (71.7%) were most preferred, followed by "domestic large corporations" (48.2%), "overseas large corporations" (32.5%), "domestic medium-sized enterprises" (28%), and "overseas governments and public institutions" (20.3%).
The startup community expressed a desire for linked support even after the completion of demonstration PoC, such as "linkage to public procurement markets for demonstrated products" (68.2%), "issuance of demonstration completion certificates" (39.2%), and "expert consultation based on demonstration results" (37.6%).
Cho Sang-hyun, Head of the Startup Global Support Office at KITA, said, "While existing open innovation verifies technology and solutions only at the final stage, testbeds allow pre-verification and post-matching, fostering coexistence between companies and startups. The association will further increase opportunities for demonstration PoC related to startups and strengthen linked support."
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