Futureplay and Seoul National University Achieve Investment Success with Two Companies in 'SNU Big Scale-up' Program

Futureplay announced on October 31 that it has successfully concluded the '2025 SNU Big Scale-up Program,' which it operated in partnership with the Startup Support Group at Seoul National University.

(From left) Aram Jeon, Head of Investment Division 2 at Futureplay; Ohhyung Kwon, CEO of Futureplay; Geunwoo Ko, CEO of Xsentry; Kyuhwa Lee, CEO of Metafarms; Jaewoong Choi, Head of Investment Division 1 at Futureplay, are taking a commemorative photo after completing the SNU Big Scale-up Program. Futureplay

The SNU Big Scale-up Program is an advanced startup growth initiative that combines Seoul National University's technological entrepreneurship capabilities with Futureplay's expertise in investment and value-up strategies. In this year's first cohort, 20 innovative teams consisting of SNU researchers and alumni were discovered. In the first stage, 7 companies were selected, and in the second stage, 4 companies received intensive mentoring and opportunities for IR (investment presentations).

This program marks the first official collaboration that supported all stages, from technology validation to investment attraction, for startups founded by SNU faculty, students, and alumni. Ultimately, Futureplay invested in 'Metafarms,' an agtech startup developing automated agricultural robots, and 'Xsentry,' a startup with nano-material-based new material analysis technology, among the companies that participated in the second stage. This has demonstrated the potential for success of the 'performance-sharing industry-academia investment model.'

Additionally, following Futureplay's investment, Xsentry was selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Deep Tech TIPS' program, securing additional research and development funding for technology commercialization.

Ohhyung Kwon, CEO of Futureplay, stated, "This program with Seoul National University goes beyond simple educational support, serving as a practical industry-academia collaboration model that led to actual investment and commercialization. Moving forward, we will further strengthen our structural support that combines investment and value-up strategies to help university-based technology startups grow in the market."

Based on this collaboration, Futureplay plans to further expand its industry-academia partnership with Seoul National University and develop it into a sustainable cooperation model that supports the growth of technology startup teams and leads to follow-up investments.