Naver Startup Incubation Organization Launches Efforts to Discover and Invest in Student Tech Startup Teams

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Naver's startup nurturing organization 'D2SF' announced on the 18th that it will hold the 11th Campus Technology Startup Contest and discover and invest in student startup teams.

Naver D2SF's Campus Technology Startup Contest is a program aimed at discovering promising student startup teams at the very early stage, helping their growth, and providing investment and collaboration opportunities. It has been regularly held every semester since 2016 and has established itself as a representative growth program for promising student technology startup teams.

Any university (graduate) student startup team with a plan to solve problems using technology can apply for the Campus Technology Startup Contest. In particular, teams can apply regardless of whether they have established a corporation or the stage of technology development, providing an opportunity for technology startups that require a long time to prove value in the market to explore growth potential early on.

Naver D2SF provides a 3-month incubating program to the final selected teams. First, to allow them to focus on technology development, it provides ▲funding ▲cloud infrastructure ▲office space in Gangnam. For technology growth, it offers opportunities such as ▲feedback from Naver technology leaders ▲office space within Naver headquarters to transfer Naver's technical know-how. Additionally, to help student startup teams grow into technology startups, it plans to connect investment and collaboration opportunities through ▲Naver D2SF business mentoring ▲technology startup networks.

So far, Naver D2SF has led the growth of student startup teams through the Campus Technology Startup Contest. Among the 49 teams selected so far, 22 teams have successfully established corporations and attracted investments, growing steadily. Notably, ▲mobility startup Mobiltech ▲Flask, which developed an AI animating automation solution, are representative cases that received investment from Naver D2SF after incubation. Vidotdoo, which developed video AI technology, was acquired by Naver Webtoon after participating in the Naver D2SF technology startup contest and investment.

Yang Sanghwan, leader of Naver D2SF, said, “For student technology startup teams to grow well, an incubating program optimized for technology startups is necessary,” and added, “As before, we will actively discover promising student startup teams in this D2SF contest and support them to find market opportunities and grow.”