Global Companies Including Nvidia and OpenAI to Support Domestic Startup Growth

Ministry of SMEs and Startups to Focus on Newly Established 'Global Startup Teams' for
Enhancing Globalization Capabilities of Domestic Startup Companies
Recruiting 295 Companies for the '2024 Global Business Collaboration Program'

Global companies such as Nvidia, Intel, and OpenAI will help domestic startups expand into the global market.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will recruit startups wishing to participate in the ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program’ from February 29 to March 25.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is focusing its policy efforts on the globalization of startups by establishing a ‘Global Startup Team.’ This year, the ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program’ includes 11 global companies, with leading AI companies Intel and the representative of generative AI, OpenAI, joining the program. The support scale has also expanded by 35 companies compared to last year, supporting a total of 305 companies.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is explaining the main policies of the ministry at the 2024 Policy Direction Briefing held on the 11th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program’ is a public-private partnership global startup support program that started in 2019, where the government and global companies collaborate to support the growth of Korean startups and provide opportunities to enter overseas markets.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups initially piloted the ‘Changgu Program’ in 2019, supporting the growth of startups in the mobile service sector in collaboration with Google Play, and gradually expanded the ‘Global Corporate Collaboration Program.’ In 2023, it supported startups in partnership with nine global companies including Google Play, Nvidia, Microsoft, Dassault Syst?mes, Ansys Korea, Siemens, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle, and IBM.

This recruitment announcement consists of a total of 10 programs: ▲Changgu Program (in collaboration with Google Play) ▲N-Up Program (in collaboration with Nvidia) ▲Majung Program (in collaboration with Microsoft) ▲Daonda Program (in collaboration with Dassault Syst?mes) ▲ASK Program (in collaboration with Ansys Korea) ▲Jijunghae Program (in collaboration with Siemens) ▲Jungle Program (in collaboration with AWS) ▲Miracle Program (in collaboration with Oracle) ▲IBM Collaboration Program ▲Intel Collaboration Program.

For the OpenAI Collaboration Program, participating companies were selected through the separately held ‘K-Startup & OpenAI Matching Day’ last year, and this announcement excludes the OpenAI Collaboration Program, recruiting a total of 295 startups.

Selected startups will commonly receive commercialization funds (up to 200 million KRW) and specialized programs from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, along with growth support services composed of each global company’s professional services, education, consulting, and market development.

Minister Oh Young-joo stated, “The Ministry of SMEs and Startups is actively supporting the scale-up and globalization of promising startups based on the ‘Startup Korea Measures’ announced last August for Korea’s leap to become a global startup powerhouse,” adding, “We expect our startups to take a step forward through the specialized services and networks possessed by global companies.”