Ansan City Selects Artblood as Third Investment Company for Youth Startup Fund

12 Billion KRW Investment for Next-Generation Blood Substitute Development
Artblood Selected as Third Recipient of Ansan Youth Startup Fund

Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, announced on August 19 that it had selected Artblood Co., Ltd. as the third investment company of the ‘Ansan Youth Startup Fund’ and held a plaque presentation ceremony on August 18.

Lee Mingeun, mayor of Ansan (left), is presenting a plaque to Eunjeong Baek, CEO of Artblood, which was selected as the third investment company of the Ansan Youth Startup Fund. Provided by Ansan City

Artblood is the third local company to receive investment from S Ventures Co., Ltd., the operator of the Ansan Youth Startup Fund. The company is a total blood solution provider, focused on reducing dependence on blood donations and developing next-generation blood substitutes.

Artblood possesses a diverse research and development pipeline, including in vitro produced red blood cell products, transfusion blood, animal blood, and drug delivery carriers. According to the city, the company’s proprietary cell line-based artificial red blood cell product is gaining attention because it can be transfused regardless of blood type, carries a lower risk of infection, and has a longer survival period in the body compared to conventional blood.

With this selection, Artblood will receive 1.2 billion KRW in support from S Ventures to advance its technology development. To facilitate this, the company relocated its headquarters to Ansan in June.

The city expects that combining the research and development infrastructure centered around Ansan Science Valley (ASV) with local companies will help establish the foundation for a bio-innovation city and revitalize the regional economy.

Eunjeong Baek, CEO of Artblood, stated, “We will do our utmost to use this investment as a stepping stone to grow into a global biotech company based in Ansan.”

Lee Mingeun, mayor of Ansan, said, “The advanced ex vivo blood production platform technology possessed by Artblood is directly linked to the city’s future growth engines. We will actively support the company so it can continue its research and development in a stable environment.”