Quarterly Technology Open Recruitment, Intellectual Property and Investment Consulting Follow-up Support Instead of First-Come, First-Served Registration
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is improving the ‘Testbed Seoul’ project, which provides opportunities to ‘test’ innovative technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as artificial intelligence, drones, and robots at various facilities and sites for up to one year, in a way that can further expand the participation of innovative technologies and companies.
According to Seoul City on the 26th, the demonstration sites, which were previously limited to facilities, will be expanded to include autonomous district health centers, neighborhood libraries, university hospitals, financial institutions, and other public and private sectors. The operation method, which used to accept innovative technologies on a first-come, first-served basis every year, will be improved to a quarterly open competition system, and the demonstration support method will shift from a budget-centered support system to an opportunity-providing system that expands on-site matching, significantly increasing participating companies.
The ‘Testbed Seoul Demonstration Support’ project is a program where Seoul City provides public spaces as demonstration sites for companies with innovative technologies to support their commercialization and market development. Through the Testbed Seoul Demonstration Support project, Seoul lends the entire city as a testbed to companies that have innovative technologies but face difficulties in the most crucial ‘demonstration’ phase for commercialization and market preemption, and supports demonstration costs (project expenses).
Companies that successfully complete the demonstration will be issued a Korean and English ‘Demonstration Confirmation Certificate’ in the name of Seoul City, which can be used as a kind of certification for domestic and international market entry. Follow-up support such as intellectual property rights, marketing, and investment consulting is also provided by the Seoul Business Agency’s ‘Innovative Technology Support Group.’
This year, demonstration sites will be greatly expanded. In addition to facilities managed by the city, the scope will be extended to private sectors such as university hospitals and financial institutions, as well as facilities in 25 autonomous districts. The private sector will be identified by understanding the demand of private companies and institutions wishing to introduce new technologies. In this process, cooperation will also be established with industrial hubs operated by the city, such as Hongneung Seoul Bio Hub, AI Yangjae Hub, and Yeouido Seoul Fintech Lab.
Seoul City will recruit participating companies for the Testbed Seoul Demonstration Support project quarterly (1st to 3rd quarters) starting this year, with the first recruitment period from February 25 to March 4. Selected companies (technologies) will be provided with demonstration sites for up to one year, and if necessary, up to 400 million KRW per technology, totaling 10.5 billion KRW, will be supported.
Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Seoul City’s Economic Policy Office, said, “The Testbed project is a gateway that fully supports two of the most important aspects for SMEs and startups through technology demonstration: technological capability and market development.” He added, “Starting this year, as we diversify demonstration sites in cooperation with autonomous districts and private companies, we hope that many companies with innovative technologies will show great interest and participate.”
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