Large and Mid-Sized Companies Seek Startups for 'Open Innovation' Participation

Building Partnerships with Large and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Collaboration Funding Provided to Selected Startups

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on July 23 that it is publicly recruiting demand companies and collaborating startups to participate in the second half of the year’s 'Public-Private Cooperation Open Innovation Support Program.'

This call for applications includes a demand-driven track, which features a 'new collaboration type' that supports demand company-startup meetups and matching, as well as a 'follow-up collaboration type' that will be piloted to support performance creation among companies that have already established collaborative relationships.

The newly launched 'follow-up support track' will support further collaboration between demand companies and startups that have already confirmed their suitability for collaboration and potential for commercialization outcomes through initial open innovation programs run by public institutions and private companies.

This call for applications aims to select approximately 20 collaborative teams. Selected startups will receive up to 60 million KRW in collaboration funding, as well as tailored support such as consulting and specialized training necessary for collaboration. In addition, participating startups will be provided with research and development (R&D) opportunities.

Cho Kyungwon, Director of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "We expect to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of support through the linkage between open innovation support programs," and added, "We will establish a continuous support system based on performance at each stage of open innovation to underpin 'growth for all' through open innovation."