KT to Foster Next-Generation Unicorns in Digital Health

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] KT announced on the 10th that it will implement a specialized accelerating program called ‘Next Jump-up’ in collaboration with the Incheon Creative Economy Innovation Center to discover and nurture promising startups that will become ‘next-generation unicorns’ in the digital and bio-healthcare sectors.

Since last year, KT has selected the digital and bio-healthcare business as a new growth engine and has been actively pursuing market entry. This accelerating program is designed to discover startups that will lead future innovation based on KT’s ABC (Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud) technology and to establish a partnership ecosystem going forward.

The program is recruiting participating companies until the 24th. It targets domestic and international startups ranging from prospective entrepreneurs to those with completed corporate registration, and the final results will be announced in early October after document and interview evaluations. The fields are digital and bio-healthcare businesses, with no restrictions on detailed areas; however, considering business cooperation synergy with KT, the program will give preference to business areas such as ‘AI diagnosis,’ ‘digital therapeutics,’ and ‘data-based platforms.’

Among the selected companies, those wishing to do so will be supported to move into spaces owned by KT or partner organizations. Additionally, KT plans to operate various support programs, including providing investment attraction and networking opportunities through KT’s infrastructure and launching services linked to KT’s business. In particular, companies that demonstrate outstanding performance during the program operation period and are selected as excellent companies will receive a total of 50 million KRW in commercialization support funds and will also be given opportunities for investment review. Furthermore, they will be recommended for the ‘2022 Biz Collaboration Program,’ which supports commercialization discussions, joint research and development, and prototype production through one-on-one matching with KT’s business departments.

Kim Hyung-wook, Vice President and Head of KT’s Future Value Promotion Office, said, “Through this accelerator program, we aim to discover promising startups in the digital and bio-healthcare sectors that can create business synergy with KT,” adding, “We will continue efforts to discover promising startups in this field with limitless market potential and nurture them into ‘next-generation unicorns’ through an open collaboration model.”