Seoul Signs MOU with US-Based Snowflake
City to Identify Promising Companies for North American Expansion
Snowflake to Support Product and Service Marketing
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will collaborate with the artificial intelligence (AI) data cloud company Snowflake to support the global expansion of promising companies in strategic industries such as AI and fintech.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on September 8, the city and Snowflake signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) earlier this morning to support promising companies in strategic industries and foster talent. The signing ceremony was attended by Joo Yongtae, Director General of Economic Policy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Dennis Persson, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Snowflake headquarters, Choi Kiyeong, Country Manager of Snowflake Korea, and around 10 other officials.
Snowflake is a global AI data cloud platform company headquartered in Montana, United States. The company is a leading provider in the industry, offering AI-based storage, integration, and analytics services to more than 12,000 companies worldwide.
Under this agreement, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Snowflake will cooperate in the following areas: discovering promising companies in Seoul's strategic industries such as AI and fintech; providing mentoring by Snowflake; conducting local product and service validation using the Snowflake data platform; and connecting companies with global investors.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will identify at least 10 promising companies each year that wish to enter the North American market and will support them with pre-mentoring and the production of company introduction materials. Snowflake will assist the selected companies with product and service marketing. On September 24, Snowflake plans to open the "Silicon Valley AI Hub" with a total floor area of 2,787 square meters on its Silicon Valley campus, providing office space for companies, a meetup venue, and classrooms.
In addition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will support the operation of educational programs using the Snowflake data cloud platform at major employment and entrepreneurship support facilities to foster AI and software talent. To support talent development, the city will provide facilities such as the Seoul Youth Employment Academy, Seoul Fintech Lab, and Seoul AI Hub.
This agreement is significant as it goes beyond a simple investment attraction event, representing an ongoing partnership with a global top-tier company. It also demonstrates that Seoul is emerging as a base for the overseas expansion of promising companies in strategic industries and as an investment destination attracting attention from foreign capital. The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that, through cooperation with global leading companies this year, it is attracting continuous investment and partnerships, and that this agreement is a result that continues this momentum.
Dennis Persson, Chief Marketing Officer of Snowflake, stated, "Snowflake is at the center of today's AI revolution. Through this agreement, we aim to provide our technology, community, and ecosystem to innovative companies in Seoul and Korea, helping them build, scale, and grow their businesses."
Joo Yongtae, Director General of Economic Policy at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "This agreement marks the first case of nurturing promising companies from Seoul locally in Silicon Valley by utilizing Snowflake's AI data platform. We will continue to provide support for the global expansion and sustainable growth of promising companies in Seoul's strategic industries."
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