LG NOVA Holds 'Innovation Festival' in the U.S.

LG Electronics North America Innovation Center (LG NOVA) announced on the 30th that it held the 'Innovation Festival' on the 25th and 26th (local time) at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, USA.

LG NOVA is an organization established at the end of 2020 with the purpose of discovering new business models and collaborating with global startups to prepare for the future from a company-wide perspective. Since 2021, it has been hosting the Innovation Festival annually to discover global innovative startups to collaborate with in future industries. It serves as a networking platform where startup representatives, investors, and entrepreneurs gather in one place.

Global startup representatives participating in the LG NOVA 'Innovation Festival' held in San Francisco, USA, on the 25th-26th (local time).
[Photo by LG Electronics]

This year's Innovation Festival, themed "Lighting the Halo of Innovation," sought the keys to innovation that will create a better future in future industry sectors such as AI, cleantech, and healthcare. Notably, LG Chem also participated to discover global startups with sustainable solutions in the life sciences field.

This year, a startup pitch competition was held where 10 pre-selected startups competed with their business ideas in front of judges and the audience. The startup that won the final prize received not only prize money and marketing support from LG NOVA but also opportunities for collaboration with LG affiliates and investment attraction from global investors.

Additionally, under the theme of "Connecting and Inspiring Conversations," various interactive programs were prepared, moving away from the traditional conference format to encourage interaction between speakers and the audience. Norman Winarsky, founder of SRI Ventures and developer of Apple's AI voice assistant Siri, appeared as the keynote speaker and shared "How to Change the World through Innovative Ventures."

Alongside this, a technology exhibition section was prepared featuring startups leading innovation in future industries, selected through the "Mission for the Future" contest and collaborating with LG NOVA. These include DeepBrain AI, which provides AI-based avatar creation and chatbot integration solutions, and C.Light Technologies, Inc., a developer of retinal trackers used for monitoring degenerative neurological diseases.

Lee Seok-woo, Vice President and Head of LG NOVA, said, "I hope that people from all walks of life with diverse perspectives will come together at the Innovation Festival to create collaboration opportunities and strengthen partnerships," adding, "We will build an ecosystem where innovative ideas spring forth and develop them to create a better future."