Reflecting on 10 Years of Busan Startups... ‘Bounce 2026’ Kicks Off at BEXCO

October 7-8 at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1

Connecting Companies and Investors with Global and Investment Themes

25 Major and Mid-sized Companies and 30 Professional Investment Firms Participating

Startups from Busan and domestic and international investors will gather in one place.

The Busan Metropolitan City Government and the Busan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation announced on September 28 that they will host Busan’s flagship startup festival, ‘Bounce 2026,’ at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1, for two days from October 7 to 8.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Bounce 2026 with the theme ‘A Shining Decade, A Bright Future.’ The event is designed to reflect on the past ten years of Busan’s startup ecosystem and prepare for the next decade.

As in the previous year, it will be held jointly with the Asia Startup Expo ‘Fly Asia 2026’, expanding participation from domestic and international startups, investors, as well as large and mid-sized corporations and other startup ecosystem stakeholders.

This year’s event is organized in connection with key startup support programs such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ ‘Startup for Everyone, TIPS,’ featuring programs tailored to match startups’ stages of growth and their demands.

The core objective is to provide opportunities for global expansion, investment attraction, and business cooperation all in one place. The event goes beyond simple information-sharing to facilitate real business connections between startups, corporations, and investors.

Lectures, panel discussions, and company presentations are scheduled with a ‘Global’ theme on the first day and an ‘Investment’ theme on the second day. On October 7, activities such as global entrepreneur pitching and global partner pitching will offer opportunities for exchange and collaboration between domestic and international startups and the global startup ecosystem.

On October 8, with the theme of ‘Investment,’ programs such as ‘Welcome to TIPS IR & Reverse Pitching,’ ‘TIPS NEXT Demoday,’ and the ‘BCCEI Startup BuS Picks IR Showcase’ will be held. These programs are designed to expand investment opportunities for outstanding startups.

One-on-one meetups connecting domestic and international companies, investors, and startups will also be held over two days. Twenty-five large and mid-sized companies—including Kakao Mobility, Naver Cloud, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Lotte Department Store, and Hanwha Ocean—and thirty professional investors such as Series Ventures, LX Ventures, and Hana Capital will participate.

A Global Office Hour with nine partner companies from seven countries is also planned. Garuda Spark Innovation Hub, Lotte Ventures Vietnam, and others will support startups with overseas expansion consultations and networking. At last year’s Bounce 2025, 382 one-on-one business meetings took place, including 189 open innovation consultations from large and mid-sized companies and public institutions and 85 investment consultations.

Building on last year’s results, this year’s event will strengthen the matching programs to better facilitate tangible business outcomes such as investment attraction and overseas market development.

Special booths for ‘Startup for Everyone’ and the Startup One-Stop Support Center will be operated. There will also be specialized booths for startups in areas such as smart marine and fintech, as well as ‘Bounce Night,’ a networking event for startup ecosystem participants.

Dongyeob Lee, Director for Financial Startups Policy at Busan Metropolitan City, said, “Bounce, marking its 10th anniversary, is a meaningful opportunity to look back on the past decade of the Busan startup ecosystem and prepare for the next ten years. This year, in conjunction with key startup support programs of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, we will enhance our global and investment-related programs to ensure that startups achieve real results in investment and business cooperation.”

Pre-registration for the event is open until October 2. Not only startups, investors, and company officials but also the general public can participate free of charge.

Bounce held last year.

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