62 Deep Tech Startups Join Forces with Major Corporations for Technology Collaboration

On December 10, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held the "Deep Tech Value-Up Partnership Day," an event to share the outcomes of recommending and matching promising deep tech startups with large corporations, as well as facilitating technology cooperation and other collaborative efforts.

The Deep Tech Value-Up Program is an open innovation initiative led by the Ministry, bringing together top-tier technology-based ventures and startups with large corporations. The program began as a pilot project with Hyundai Motor Company last year, and this year, a total of 11 major corporations participated, collaborating with 62 startups.

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Starting with a joint meetup event in March, a total of 736 startups were recommended to the 11 large corporations. After 133 meetups, 62 startups were ultimately selected as collaboration partners. The average competition ratio was 12 to 1.

The results of these collaborations are also becoming clear. For example, Startup A, which participated in this program, pursued partnerships with two large corporations simultaneously and recently secured an investment of approximately 12 billion won. The company also plans to showcase its products to the global market by joining the large corporations' promotional booths at CES 2026, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition.

During the event, there was also a segment dedicated to recognizing those who played key roles in achieving concrete collaboration results between large corporations and startups. A total of 11 corporate representatives and support agency officials who participated in the Deep Tech Value-Up program were honored with ministerial commendations for their contributions to revitalizing the startup ecosystem through open innovation.

Cho Kyungwon, Director General for Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "The open innovation framework, where the private sector leads innovation and the government provides strong support, will continue. The government will spare no effort in supporting necessary institutional improvements, technology protection, and global expansion throughout the public-private collaboration process."

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