Held on the 20th at Samsung Seoul R&D Campus
30 Startups from the 7th Batch of C-Lab Outside Participate
Seeking Investment and Business Opportunities
Five Graduated Companies Including RYUTEN Technologies Attend
Innovative Achievements Through Samsung Electronics?Startup Collaboration
Promising Startups in Robotics and Advanced Materials
Growth Stories Through Collaboration with Samsung Electronics
218 New Hires and 34.5 Billion Won in Investments
Nearly 1,000 In-House Ventures and External Startups Fostered
On November 20, Samsung Electronics held the '2025 C-Lab Startup Demo Day' at the Samsung Electronics Seoul R&D Campus in Seocho-gu, Seoul, aiming to expand the innovation ecosystem through collaboration with startups.
At the Samsung Electronics C-Lab exhibition hall during CES 2024 held in Las Vegas, USA, this January. Samsung Electronics
This event was organized to share the achievements of the 7th batch of C-Lab Outside startups fostered by Samsung Electronics and to expand opportunities for investment and business collaboration. The theme was "Beyond Limits with C-Lab." Thirty startups from the 7th batch of C-Lab Outside participated, presenting their achievements and engaging in panel discussions.
Five companies, including RYUTEN Technologies, which have already graduated from C-Lab Outside and entered the market, also attended to share their growth stories. RYUTEN Technologies, a graduate of the 4th batch, became the first generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform startup to raise a cumulative investment of 130 billion won and has entered the AI transformation (AX) business, achieving results such as reducing working hours and improving productivity.
The 35 participating startups are pioneering new markets in promising future fields such as AI, digital health, robotics, and ESG (environmental, social, and governance). Among them, ten companies-including Aidin Robotics, which develops force and torque sensors for robots; Geogrid, which offers eco-friendly water purification plant solutions; Idea Ocean, which provides AI solutions for automated robot design; Thanks Carbon, which offers AI solutions for carbon credit certification; and SofNT, which develops nanofiber-based composite materials-presented their achievements from the past year at the event.
The 30 startups of the 7th batch of C-Lab Outside hired a total of 218 new employees during the program period, contributing to youth job creation, and attracted investments totaling 34.5 billion won, demonstrating their growth potential.
Kim Kihyun, CEO of Geogrid, said, "Thanks to C-Lab's systematic support, we were able to significantly strengthen our company's capabilities. In particular, the professional consulting program provided by C-Lab greatly helped us clarify our business direction, and collaboration with Samsung Electronics laid the foundation for us to enter the global market."
On site, more than 400 people attended, including Assemblywoman Lee Eonju of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Seunghee, President and Head of Corporate Relations at Samsung Electronics, C-Lab advisory board members, industry representatives, and Samsung Electronics executives and employees, who toured the exhibition and watched the startup presentations.
Assemblywoman Lee said, "Startups are Korea's new growth engine and the core of future competitiveness. I ask Samsung Electronics to continue its interest and support so that it can grow together with innovative startups through mutual cooperation." President Park emphasized, "Samsung Electronics C-Lab has established itself as a representative 'open collaboration platform' where large corporations and startups grow together. We will continue to actively support the growth of startups through business collaboration and investment, fulfilling our responsibilities and roles as partners in pioneering the future together."
Han Sung Sook, Minister of SMEs and Startups, delivered a congratulatory message via video, saying, "Samsung Electronics C-Lab is a representative open innovation model in Korea, where the technological capabilities and global network of a large corporation are combined with the creativity and agility of startups to create new innovations. Ultimately, great achievements are made when people and companies cooperate with each other, which is why the meaning of open innovation is so significant."
C-Lab Inside was introduced in December 2012 as an in-house venture program to foster a creative organizational culture where Samsung Electronics employees can freely propose and pursue ideas. Since 2015, a spin-off system has been in place to allow outstanding in-house venture projects to become independent startups. In 2018, Samsung Electronics expanded its experience and know-how in nurturing in-house ventures to the outside world by launching 'C-Lab Outside,' an open innovation program to discover and support startups with innovative ideas.
Through C-Lab Outside, Samsung Electronics is contributing to revitalizing the domestic startup ecosystem and creating quality youth jobs. In 2023, C-Lab Outside was expanded to regions such as Daegu, Gwangju, and North Gyeongsang Province, promoting the development of regional startup ecosystems. The key is to directly discover and nurture innovative startups through regional bases, providing tailored support to supplement the limitations of the Seoul-centered startup infrastructure.
Through these efforts, Samsung Electronics is working to ensure that startups in the regions can access growth opportunities without relocating to Seoul, and to create a virtuous cycle where local talent and technology can thrive within their communities. To date, the company has discovered and fostered 40 startups in these regions, contributing to the activation of local startup ecosystems, and is looking forward to the emergence of global unicorn companies from the regions in the long term.
Samsung Electronics also operates the 'C-Lab Family' system to provide continued growth opportunities for startups even after they graduate from C-Lab Outside, maintaining investment and business collaboration opportunities. So far, Samsung Electronics has fostered a total of 959 ventures and startups (423 in-house and 536 external), and is on track to surpass 1,000 next year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
