K-Startups Heat Up CES...② The 'Dreams' of Youths Nurtured by Samsung

[Las Vegas=Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi]"While working at Samsung SDS, I was preparing as an in-house venture, and now with Samsung's support, we have been able to set up an exhibition booth at CES 2023."

Minji Ahn, CEO of startup Katius, which created 'Kati,' an emotional conversational AI doll for children's language development, has high expectations for the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, CES 2023. As their first participation, their goal is to introduce 'Kati' to the world and find partners in the North American region for collaboration.

Just two days after the opening of CES (on the 5th, local time), they received satisfactory responses and results. CEO Ahn said, "The AI chatbot 'Kati,' optimized for infants and toddlers, will be launched in Korea this year," adding, "We are also preparing for a U.S. launch with an English version, and we believe we can find partners, so once development is complete, we expect to enter the U.S. market." Katius is a startup created through Samsung SDS's in-house venture program XEED-LAB. Over the past year, they have received commercialization funding, management, marketing, and R&D consulting support through Samsung Electronics, and were selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' technology startup investment program TIPS.

Lee Sang-min, CEO of startup Newbility, which is developing 'Newbee,' an urban delivery service using autonomous robots, also has high expectations for their first CES participation. He said, "By fusing various sensor technologies such as sensor fusion for AI-based obstacle recognition and avoidance driving logic, and AI for identifying driving road environments and drivable areas, accurate and stable autonomous driving is possible in complex urban areas," adding, "Additionally, we have lowered the high production costs to secure price competitiveness for delivery robots."

He explained, "There is a high demand for urban delivery services in the U.S., where camping and outdoor activities are popular," and added, "Unlike Chinese products specialized for indoor spaces, the product we are developing performs well in outdoor spaces." He also expressed hopes to find U.S. distribution partners during CES to realize their dream of entering the U.S. market.

Over the past year, Newbility has achieved rapid growth by establishing a stable business foundation through financial consulting and business cooperation support from Samsung Electronics' external startup program 'C-Lab Outside.' They have also secured investments totaling 26.8 billion KRW to date. They have verified the marketability of their B2B business model by operating food and beverage delivery and sales services at golf courses and resorts in cooperation with Samsung Welstory and Samsung C&T Resort Division.

Four outstanding projects from Samsung Electronics' in-house venture program for employees, 'C-Lab Inside,' and eight companies nurtured through the external startup program 'C-Lab Outside' participated in CES this year. Katius and Newbility received Samsung's support through C-Lab Outside.

Since 2016, Samsung Electronics has introduced outstanding C-Lab projects at CES to help C-Lab startups assess global market responses and strengthen business viability in front of worldwide visitors. Among the eight startups participating in the C-Lab exhibition hall, seven have won innovation awards. As a result, Samsung Electronics C-Lab startups set a new record for the most awards at CES 2023 Innovation Awards, winning 2 Best of Innovation Awards and 27 Innovation Awards, totaling 29 awards.