"Selecting the Elite Startup Teams from Science and Technology Universities"… K-Deep Tech Investment Experts Unite

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Money Today's startup media platform, "Unicorn Factory," will host the "5th K-Deep Tech Startup King of Kings Competition" on October 30 at Hall B Plus Stage, COEX, in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

Key figures from the venture investment industry will participate as judges in the King of Kings Competition. This year, six new organizations joined the judging panel: GS VENTURES, LB Investment, the R&D Special Zone Promotion Foundation, Blue Point Partners, Series Ventures, and CNTech. The panel includes major corporate CVCs (corporate venture capital), deep tech-specialized VCs (venture capital), public technology commercialization institutional investors, and regional/early-stage specialized ACs (accelerators), forming a judging body equipped with investment and business development capabilities.

The finals will feature 12 student and faculty startup teams produced by six science and technology-focused universities. The event will follow an actual investment pitch IR (Investor Relations) format, with each team presenting for 10 minutes followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. Teams will be evaluated on a 100-point scale based on the sum of technical merit (30 points), marketability (20 points), business viability (40 points), and team capability (10 points).

The newly joined CVC is GS VENTURES. Hong Seok-hyun, CEO of GS VENTURES, will serve as a judge. GS VENTURES was the first CVC established among major conglomerates with a holding company structure in 2022. In its early stages, it focused on the bio, climate, resource recycling, and energy sectors, but recently expanded its investment scope to AI and robotics fields, such as industrial robots and cooling for AI data centers. It has a connection to industrial sites given that deep tech startup technologies can be linked with group affiliates.

From the VC sector, LB Investment is newly participating. Koo Jung-hoe, Senior Executive Vice President of LB Investment, will serve as a judge. Since entering the VC industry in 1999 and joining LB Investment in 2006, Mr. Koo has led investments in deep tech fields, including materials, components and equipment. LB Investment started as LG Venture Investment in 1996 and has invested approximately 1.9 trillion won in about 580 companies to date. HYBE, Curry, Pearl Abyss, and ToolGen are among its key portfolio companies.

The R&D Special Zone Promotion Foundation is participating as a sponsoring institutional investor for this year's competition and will also take part in the judging. Son Su-chang, Head of the Business Management Division at the Special Zone Foundation, will participate as a judge representing the newly established Lee (President) Award (Excellence Award). Performance in Lee Sa-jang-sang (수상) can be utilized as a bonus point or preferential condition when applying for future support programs from the Special Zone Foundation.

Head of Division Son stated, "Deep tech startups must be evaluated not only on immediate results but also on the originality of their technology, barriers to entry, and long-term commercialization potential," adding, "We expect this King of Kings Competition to be an opportunity to discover deep tech startups that solve real market problems based on excellent technological capabilities and will lead future industries."

Existing members of the judging panel include Samsung Electronics' Creative Development Center (C-Lab), Ecopro Partners, L&S Venture Capital, and Korea Science & Technology Holdings (KST). Park Nam-hyun, Head of the C-Lab Division at Samsung Electronics, will participate in the judging based on his experience in commercializing intra-company ventures and startups. Startups from the C-Lab received 17 innovation awards, including two Best Innovation Awards, at "CES 2026," held earlier this year.

Lee Jae-hoon, CEO of Ecopro Partners, will participate in the judging based on his experience in discovering regional technology companies. More than 80% of the 85 startups invested in by Ecopro Partners are located in the region.

Choi Chi-ho, CEO of KST, has experience in commercializing government-funded research institute technologies and linking them with investments. KST is a technology holding company jointly funded by 17 government-funded research institutional investors, and during Choi (CEO)'s tenure, it attracted follow-on and co-investments totaling 330 billion won.

L&S Venture Capital, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, will have Joo Seong-jin (CEO) participate as a judge. L&S Venture Capital has invested in fundamental technology fields such as mobility, robotics, space, AI, bio, and healthcare, centered on semiconductors and materials, components and equipment. It has established 36 funds to date, with cumulative assets under management (AUM) of 852.4 billion won. Mid-sized manufacturing companies such as Shinsung Delta Tech, Powerlogics, and SL are shareholders, giving it a strength in connecting technology startups with the industrial sector.

Three ACs responsible for the early-stage investment scene also joined the judging panel for the first time this year. Blue Point Partners evaluates technology commercialization potential and corporate valuation based on its experience in startups founded on university and research institute technologies. Series Ventures and CNTech will focus on discovering promising companies and subsequent incubation based on their experience in regional and early-stage company investments.

Lee Yong-gwan, CEO of Blue Point Partners, is an entrepreneur-turned-investor participating as a judge. Lee (CEO), who holds a Ph.D. in Physics from KAIST, founded plasma equipment company Plasmart in 2000, sold it to MKS, a NASDAQ-listed US company, and then established Blue Point Partners in 2014. Blue Point is a deep tech-specialized AC that has invested in over 400 startups to date.

Park Jun-sang, CEO of Series Ventures, grew the company, which he co-founded in 2017, into a representative AC for the southeastern region. He has directly invested 25 billion won in approximately 80 companies, and cumulative follow-on investments by portfolio companies have exceeded 250 billion won.

Jeon Hwa-seong, CEO of CNTech, will also participate as a judge. Jeon Hwa-seong (CEO), who serves as the chairman of the Early-Stage Investment Accelerator Association, has invested nearly 100 billion won in approximately 580 startups. CNTech continues to hold the record for the most annual investments in the AC industry for six consecutive years.

Winning teams will receive bonus point benefits when linked with CVC open innovation projects and participating in the Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN) overseas expansion program. Regardless of winning, all 12 teams advancing to the finals will be provided with a one-year scale-up program, including corporate promotion, expert consulting, and investor networking.

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