Selection of 20 Startups for Overseas Expansion
in the United States, Japan, and Other Regions
The Korea Startup Forum (KOSPO) announced on July 21 that it will be recruiting startups to participate in "COMEUP Stars 2025" for one month until August 22.
COMEUP Stars is an innovative startup discovery and support program held annually as part of COMEUP, organized by KOSPO.
This year, the previous league divisions?Runners, Rookies, and Rockets?based on cumulative investment amounts have been boldly abolished. Instead, the program has been completely reorganized to focus on outbound opportunities, emphasizing the potential for overseas expansion. The aim is to select startups with genuine global expansion capabilities and support their debut on the global stage as well as help them secure business opportunities.
The global expansion support regions are divided into four areas: the United States, Japan, China, and Europe. Five startups will be selected for each region, totaling 20 startups. The main partner organizations for each region are: Penn Ventures (United States), Shinhan Futures Lab Japan (Japan), E-Land China EIV (China), and Start2 Group (Europe).
These partners will provide selected startups with customized programs focused on market entry, including localization strategy consulting, PoC (Proof of Concept), connections to local investors and partners, and global pitching opportunities. The final selected startups will receive a comprehensive support package, including opportunities to participate in IR pitching and exhibition booths at the main COMEUP event, invitations to overseas business trips the following year, and media promotion support.
Applicant startups will undergo document and interview evaluations, and the final 20 companies will be announced on September 17. The selected startups will participate in a workshop at BEXCO in Busan on September 22?23, and then enter an acceleration program in collaboration with the partner organizations for about two months from October to November.
Han Sangwoo, Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum, stated, "This year's COMEUP Stars is a practical program focused on verifying overseas expansion capabilities, rather than simple networking." He added, "We will establish an advanced support system to help domestic startups achieve results in the global market."
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