Four New Global Companies to Join AroundX Next Year, Bringing Total to 17

Mercedes-Benz, Astellas, OpenAI, and HP to Join the AroundX Program Next Year

The government introduced four new global companies that will join the AroundX program starting next year and shared the outstanding achievements of this year's participating companies.

On December 12, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held the "AroundX Open Innovation Seminar" at the COMEUP 2025 event at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The AroundX program is a global open innovation initiative in which the government collaborates with leading global companies to support the growth and overseas expansion of domestic startups. As of this year, its seventh year, more than 1,600 startups have participated in the program, and the number of participating global companies has increased annually, reaching 13 this year.

In the first session, six startups that participated in this year's AroundX program-including Soojip, iPinLabs, and Colosseum Corporation-took the stage to share their stories of successfully advancing their technologies and entering global markets through collaboration with global companies.

In the second session, four new global companies set to join the AroundX program next year were announced. These companies are Mercedes-Benz, Astellas, OpenAI, and HP. With their participation, the total number of global companies involved in next year's AroundX program will increase to 17.

In his congratulatory remarks, First Vice Minister Noh Yongseok stated, "With new global companies joining as partners, we expect the AroundX program to develop into Korea's representative global open innovation platform," adding, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will continue to provide strong support so that outstanding startups can collaborate and innovate together with global companies."