Information Sessions Held for Korean Startup Businesses in US

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announced that it will kick off information sessions in Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, and Busan from Feb. 9 to provide information to 80 selected startup firms that will be assisted in Korea Innovation Centers (KICs) in the United States. 

The KIC program is the Ministry’s organization for venture assistance, R&D cooperation, and market penetration support abroad. It was set up in Brussels in Nov. 2013, in Washington D.C. in May last year, and in Silicon Valley six months later. 

Those companies selected can make use of the KIC's global investment, startup, and marketing expert networks to procure funds and find business partners. In addition, the KIC in Silicon Valley is planning to provide a KIC-Express Program for full-cycle startup assistance and office space as well. The KIC-Express Program is a 10 week program in which promising startup firms are selected for concentrated support ranging from business incubation to financing. 

The KIC in Silicon Valley is going to strengthen cooperation with organizations in Korea so that more Korean companies can find their way into the U.S. market. This includes an investment MOU with Korea Science & Technology (KST) Holdings, the largest IP holding company in Korea founded by the 17 government-funded research institutes of the ministry so as to promote the commercialization of their research outcomes. 

The Silicon Valley KIC is planning to help firms funded by KST Holdings in the U.S. In response, KST Holdings is expected to provide angel investment of up to US$1 million for each firm recommended by the KIC and satisfying certain investment conditions. Specifically, the conditions include corporate registration and intellectual property ownership in the United States, employment of any one of the research institutes’ technology for commercial purposes, and establishment of an R&D center in Korea. 

The KIC in Washington D.C., in the meantime, is going to choose 10 to 20 Korean startups at the information sessions and help them make it to the finals of the Mass Challenge in Boston. More than 2,000 venture firms from all over the world join the four-month event each year for mentoring and investment attraction, and those making it to the round of 128 can become attractive investment targets of global venture capitals.