Ministry of SMEs and Startups Hosts '2024 Scale-up TIPS Networking Event'

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will hold the 'Scale-up TIPS Networking Event' for two days from the 12th to the 13th at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Jeju.

Scale-up TIPS is a program where private operators (VC + R&D specialized companies) discover promising companies at the scale-up stage and invest, and the government provides matching support.

Since the selection of the first operators (5 consortia) in November 2021, 19 operators have been selected and operated to date. As of June this year, 234 companies have been selected, with operator investments totaling 364.1 billion KRW (an average of 1.56 billion KRW per company), matched by 288.1 billion KRW (matching investment 49.5 billion KRW, contributed R&D 233.6 billion KRW, including ongoing expenses).

Additionally, it is being activated as a dedicated platform for scaling up deep-tech companies through MOUs on technology commercialization with eight industry-academia-research cooperation organizations, global meetup events, and the operation of a global advisory committee.

About 300 participants, including operators, selected companies, industry-academia-research cooperation organizations, and private experts, attended the event on the 12th. On the first day, to support legal and accounting professional services for scale-up TIPS companies, agreements were signed with the Korea Scale-up TIPS Association and four legal and accounting professional institutions: Yulchon, Samil Accounting, Reed Smith, and Morgan Lewis.

Next, a special lecture on mid- to long-term policy proposals for the TIPS program (National Assembly Budget Office) was held, along with project cases and progress reports by strategic technology themes. The selected companies (234 companies) shared R&D themes, and operators presented business plans and achievements, divided into five technical subcommittees.

On the second day, issues such as the operation guide for the CVC Scale-up Fund (Ascendo Ventures), the promotion of the Scale-up TIPS adequacy survey research (STEPI), and the operation of the global track were discussed among operators.

Kim Woo-soon, Director of Technology Innovation Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “Through this event, we are actively promoting DCP, legal and accounting professional services, and global R&D linkage. Going forward, we will ensure that Scale-up TIPS establishes itself as a representative platform for the global scale-up of deep-tech innovative companies.”