FuturePlay Begins Recruiting Companies for Second Cohort of "SNU BIG Scale-up" Program

On April 2, FuturePlay, an accelerator (AC) and venture capital (VC) firm, announced that it has begun accepting applications for the second cohort of the "2026 SNU BIG Scale-up Program," which it operates in collaboration with the Seoul National University Startup Support Group.

FuturePlay has been running an acceleration program that combines investment and incubation to convert university laboratory technologies into businesses. This program will also support the commercialization of technologies developed by Seoul National University startups and help them enter global markets.

The core of this collaboration is FuturePlay's direct support in connecting startups with industry players and investors, leveraging its global industrial network and fundraising experience.

The second cohort program will be divided according to company growth stage: Tier 1 (seed stage) and Tier 2 (growth stage). Tier 1 companies will receive support for product-market fit (PMF) validation and product development, while Tier 2 companies will receive focused support for fundraising and global expansion strategies.

Each selected company will be assigned a dedicated FuturePlay investment manager, who will oversee the entire incubation process. These managers will assist with establishing proof-of-concept (PoC) strategies, business matching based on global networks, recruitment of key talent and team building, as well as facilitating access to research and development (R&D) funding.

FuturePlay plans to support the growth of the second cohort companies based on its experience supporting companies such as "Metafarmers" and "Xcentry" in the first cohort.

Aram Jeon, Head of Investment Division 2 at FuturePlay, stated, "Early-stage teams we invested in during the first cohort have quickly progressed to the market validation phase through FuturePlay's industrial network and government-backed industry connections. For the second cohort, we aim to accelerate investment execution and provide practical support for company growth, leveraging our program operation experience."

Applications for the program can be submitted online through the official "SNU BIG Scale-up" website until April 15.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.