Martial Arts and Smart City Startups Step Up to Support Technology Verification

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] The Korea International Trade Association and the Seoul Digital Foundation signed a business agreement on the 21st at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, to support technology verification (PoC) between smart city solution startups and large and medium-sized enterprises.

Through this business agreement, the two organizations will discover private demand sources such as domestic and international large corporations that can provide testbeds, helping them explore sources of innovation. At the same time, they will support startups in building favorable references for global expansion through technology verification and field application of their solutions.

The first collaborative project will be conducted with 25 startups participating in the Eureka Pavilion (Startup Pavilion) at CES 2022, including Coconut Silo (big data-based freight transportation brokerage platform), Cleon (video production and sharing platform without filming), Agos Vision (wide-angle 3D camera for human-robot interaction and autonomous driving), and Nubi Lab (AI food scanner aimed at reducing food waste). Large and medium-sized enterprises such as Dongwon, Hoban, Daewon, Dongyang, and Danal have decided to participate and are reviewing startups suitable for collaboration.

If the testbed leads to actual collaboration in the future, the Seoul Digital Foundation plans to support up to 70% of the related costs. For collaboration projects with outstanding technology verification results, additional linkage targets will be discovered, and participation in overseas testbed projects will also be supported to actively assist global expansion.

Lee Gwan-seop, Vice Chairman of the Trade Association, said, "Through this business agreement, we will work with the Seoul Digital Foundation to help Seoul transform into an international smart city," adding, "We will create many successful cooperation cases between large corporations and startups and accelerate the global expansion of startups."

The Korea International Trade Association and the Seoul Digital Foundation signed a business agreement on the 21st to support technology verification between smart city solution startups and large and medium-sized enterprises. Lee Gwan-seop, Vice Chairman of KITA (right in the photo), and Kang Yo-sik, Chairman of the Seoul Digital Foundation, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by KITA