Recruiting Around 50 Startups to Lead Innovation in K-Defense Industry

Recruitment of Startups for "Everyone's Challenge – Defense Industry"

Support Significantly Expanded Through Supplementary Budget

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on July 15 that it is recruiting startups to participate in the public-private open innovation program “Everyone's Challenge – Defense Industry” until August 4.

“Everyone's Challenge – Defense Industry” is a program that supports collaboration between the military, demand companies requiring the application of new technologies in the defense sector, and startups.

Everyone's Challenge - Defense Industry Project Promotion Procedure. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

This recruitment round significantly expands the support scale through additional budgeting. Following the first recruitment in March that selected 10 companies, about 50 startups are expected to be chosen this time. During the first stage of document screening, approximately three times the target number of candidates will be shortlisted. This will be followed by meetups between startups and demand companies, and an evaluation of collaboration plans from the startups before final selection.

Selected companies will receive support funds of up to 100 million won for collaborative activities such as proof of concept (PoC) and prototype production, along with linkage to technology development projects. The ministry plans to connect these with its Startup Growth Technology Development Program and Public-Private Joint Technology Commercialization Program. The specifics of support may vary depending on project requirements.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military expenditure in 2024 reached a record high of $2.718 trillion, an increase of 9.4% from the previous year. The global defense industry market is rapidly expanding due to rising geopolitical tensions and increased security demands.

Open innovation in the defense industry provides the advantage of enabling innovative startups to quickly solve technological challenges for the military and demand companies by leveraging their technologies. Startups can accumulate collaboration results—such as proof of concept (PoC) validations—in real operational environments, strengthening their foundation for entering the defense market.

Cho Kyungwon, Startup Policy Director at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, “Since the defense sector requires a high level of reliability and verification, it is crucial for startups seeking to enter the defense market to gain opportunities for demonstrations and build collaboration experience with demand institutions. Through this program, we will connect the infrastructure of the military and demand companies with the innovative technologies of startups and support their business development and subsequent growth.”

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