Thirteen Companies Participate in AI, Robotics, and Future Mobility Sectors
PoC Programs and One-on-One Mentoring Sessions Offered
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on June 25 that, in cooperation with the Korea Startup Promotion Agency, it held the "2025 Super Gap Project Global IR in Tokyo" event at Innovation Base in Tokyo, Japan, to support the entry of leading Korean super gap startups into the Japanese market.
This event is part of the investment attraction program under the "Super Gap Startup 1000+ Project" being promoted by the Ministry and the Agency. The goal is to help promising Korean deep tech startups enter the global value chain and expand their markets by establishing strategic connections with local Japanese venture capitalists (CVCs and VCs) and large corporations. In particular, the program goes beyond the traditional single IR demo day format by offering a range of complex programs for Korean startups entering Japan, including technology matching-based PoC (Proof of Concept) programs with Japanese corporations, reverse pitching sessions by local investors, and legal and IP mentoring.
Thirteen super gap startups at Series A stage or above, all possessing advanced technologies in key sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, future mobility, system semiconductors, and eco-friendly energy?areas that are currently attracting strong investment demand and significant technological attention in Japan?participated in the event.
Prior to the event, a two-month preparatory program was conducted in Korea to deepen participants' understanding of the Japanese market. Through a variety of pre-event activities?including seminars with Korean startups that have already entered Japan, one-on-one IR mentoring sessions with Japanese investors, and preliminary technology meetups with Japanese corporations?the participating companies were able to improve their local adaptability and refine their technology pitches.
On the first day of the event, June 25, the focus was on technology matching and open innovation-based PoC programs with the participation of ten leading Japanese corporations, including NTT DATA, PayPay, Rakuten, Panasonic, and OKI. The atmosphere was positive, with Japanese corporations showing strong interest in the advanced AI, robotics, and semiconductor technologies of Korean startups, and several companies expressing willingness to collaborate.
On June 26, a demo day will be held, where Korean super gap startups will directly present their technologies and business models to major Japanese VCs and CVCs. Before this, Japanese CVCs will introduce their investment philosophies, fund characteristics, and areas of technological interest in a reverse pitching session. This will be followed by IR pitches and Q&A sessions from the thirteen participating startups. Major investment institutions such as Salesforce Ventures, Global Brain, Toshiba Tech, 500 Global, and Shinhan Ventures are expected to participate in the demo day.
On the final day, June 27, participants will have the opportunity to develop practical strategies for entering the Japanese market through one-on-one mentoring sessions with experts in legal, IP, accounting, and marketing fields. In particular, advice will be provided to help overcome practical barriers to entering the Japanese market, including Go-to-Market strategies (strategic plans for successfully launching products or services and generating revenue), IP-based exit scenarios, and key considerations when forming local partnerships.
Cho Kyungwon, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "The 2025 Super Gap Project Global IR in Tokyo is a comprehensive IR program designed to help promising Korean deep tech startups concretize business opportunities in the vast Japanese economic market and accelerate their entry into the global value chain based on technological prowess. We will continue to strengthen systematic follow-up support and global linkage programs so that our startups can continue to grow based on their technology and business capabilities in major global markets, including Japan."
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