Mid-sized Companies and Startups Join Forces for New Growth Engines in Future Cars and Semiconductors

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, the Korea Industrial Intelligence Association, and the Korea International Trade Association held the '2021 1st Medium-sized Enterprise-Startup Win-Win Lounge' on the 26th at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Launched in September last year, the Win-Win Lounge is a platform designed to combine the capabilities and experience of medium-sized enterprises with the ideas of innovative startups to assist in business restructuring and entry into new businesses. At the event, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that this year, focusing on the 'Big 3' sectors such as future cars, bio-health, and system semiconductors, as well as the 'D.N.A' fields including data, networks, and artificial intelligence, the Win-Win Lounge will be supported to serve as a hub for the mutual growth of medium-sized enterprises and startups.

First, when medium-sized enterprises and startups cooperate to discover and jointly promote new business items or when medium-sized enterprises acquire startups through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), research and development (R&D) funds will be provided. Specifically, 4.7 billion KRW in technology development support funds will be invested in medium-sized enterprises pursuing joint cooperation projects with small and venture companies, and 1.5 billion KRW will be allocated to support capacity building projects for subsidiaries incorporated through spin-offs or M&A.

Additionally, by utilizing the capabilities of related organizations such as the Industrial Intelligence Association, the Trade Association, and financial institutions, follow-up linkage support such as technology verification, overseas expansion, and financing will be strengthened.

At the event, cooperation cases between medium-sized enterprises and startups were shared, and investment attraction presentations (IR pitching) by excellent startups possessing innovative technologies were conducted. Medium-sized enterprise Hoban Construction has embarked on building a next-generation ventilation system for dehumidification and air purification using new dehumidification materials in cooperation with 'AOL Korea,' a startup specializing in indoor air management. They are also collaborating with 'Ten Eleven,' an AI-based architectural design startup, to implement architectural automatic design solutions and modular construction methods.

Jang Youngjin, Director of Industrial Innovation Growth at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "The Win-Win Lounge will create synergy with the 'Medium-sized Enterprise Digital Innovation Center,' scheduled to open next month, and we will spare no policy support to ensure that companies can take a new leap forward during this period of industrial transformation."