"Korea’s Strong Presence: Big Names Flock to Korea Pavilion as Nvidia and Meta Show Keen Interest [CES 2026]"

Korea Pavilion Sees Record Participation
Global Big Tech and Automotive Giants Seek Partnerships
23 MOUs Signed, $240 Million in Contracts Secured

At CES 2026, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, Korean companies participated at the largest scale ever. At the integrated Korea Pavilion, domestic companies engaged in concrete business cooperation discussions after receiving partnership offers from global big tech, automotive, and retail giants such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta.

According to data compiled by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on January 12, at the Global Pavilion (GP) inside the Venetian Expo during CES 2026 in Las Vegas, USA, memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and follow-up negotiations were actively pursued from the opening day, January 6, particularly in the fields of robotics, healthcare, and content. A record-breaking 470 companies participated in this year’s integrated Korea Pavilion.

During the exhibition, the 470 companies at the integrated Korea Pavilion held 2,480 consultations on-site, resulting in 23 export and technology cooperation MOUs signed, contracts worth 240 million dollars, and ongoing contract negotiations totaling 790 million dollars. KOTRA is currently compiling the overall performance results of the participating companies and plans to announce the final comprehensive results within January.

On the 7th (local time), the integrated Korea Pavilion at the Venetian Expo during CES 2026 in Las Vegas, USA. Photo by Park Jun.

On this day, Mand.ro, a robotic prosthetic hand manufacturer, discussed hand collaboration applicable to the "Meta Robot" with Meta, valued at 200,000 dollars. After completing registration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Mand.ro finalized discussions with its first exclusive U.S. importer and signed an MOU. The company also signed an agreement with Italian robotics company Over Sonic to supply 400 robotic arms for humanoid robots over three years. Mand.ro further explored the possibility of technological collaboration for entertainment and exhibition robots, as well as vehicle-linked robotic technologies, with Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucid, among others.

Korea Lighting, a company specializing in LED lighting and also exhibiting in the GP, discussed supplying near-infrared lamps worth 3 million dollars to Microsoft, targeting gamer mental health. Deep Hearing held talks with Panasonic on supplying hearing aids and headsets worth 100,000 dollars.

At the Eureka Park (EP) Pavilion, connections with major global companies were particularly notable in mobility, defense, AI, and semiconductors. Semiconductor startup i-Chip attracted technological interest during a pilot project review by the U.S. Army and received partnership and pricing inquiries regarding its driver monitoring system (DMS) from Bosch and Apple. Notably, music content platform K-Zer discussed AI-powered automotive technology cooperation with Nvidia and is preparing for its official launch in March.

On the second day of the exhibition, consultations expanded into energy, health, content, and manufacturing AI sectors. Automotive parts company TM EVNet discussed battery thermal management collaboration with Honda's battery development division. Dental prosthetics material company Realityth confirmed the potential for AI-based dental material design solutions with Philips. Optical device manufacturer Clair Optik received requests from Apple for samples and OEM quotes for augmented reality (AR)-based eyeglass modules.

Further follow-up discussions with global brands also took place at the GP Pavilion. Virtual reality (VR) and AR company Recon Labs discussed collaboration on AI-based marketing video generation solutions with L'Or?al and is considering a proof-of-concept (PoC) test for its design generation solution with North American retailer Lowe's. Additionally, HHS is working on concrete collaboration plans with 3M, Exist with Bosch, and Deep Hearing with Apple.