[For more diverse corporate information about the startups featured in this article, you can view it on the Unicorn Factory big data platform 'Data Lab'.]
#Manufacturing design AI (artificial intelligence) company Narnia Labshas signed a contract with Samsung Electronics' Production Technology Research Institute to introduce the manufacturing-specialized AI platform 'AslanX.' This secures another major reference case, following Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, and LS Electric.
#Active electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter fabless company EM Coretechis conducting joint R&D (research and development) with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for filters used in aircraft power chains. The application of its own filters has been confirmed for TVs at a major domestic home appliance manufacturer.
#Developing retinal regeneration therapy, Celliazreceived U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for its gene therapy 'CLZ002.' If final approval is obtained, it can hold market exclusivity for up to seven years.
The common point among these three startups is that they all won the Grand Prize at the 'K-Deep Tech Startup King of Kings' (hereinafter referred to as King of Kings). Narnia Labs received the Grand Prize in 2022, EM Coretech in 2023, and Celliaz last year.
The King of Kings, which began for the first time in 2022, is a growth stage for deep tech startups where MoneyToday's startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory' serves as the organizer, and domestic science and technology specialized universities including △Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) △Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) △Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) △Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and POSTECH (formerly Pohang University of Science and Technology) participate.
It was planned to promote R&D technology transfer and commercialization, support the growth of promising technology startups, and build a regional innovation ecosystem. Deep tech startups in the student and faculty-founded categories selected by each university take the stage to compete in front of major corporations and VCs (venture capital).
Vice Prime Minister's Award (Ministry of Science and ICT Minister's Award) presented to two Grand Prize-winning teams
The growth momentum of other award-winning companies is also notable. Thyroscope, which received an Excellence Award in the student-founded category at the 1st competition, signed supply contracts with more than 20 major university hospitals within one month of securing the 'Evaluation Deferred New Medical Technology' notification for its AI solution for evaluating and monitoring thyroid eye disease activity last year.
Optico, a faculty-founded Excellence Award winner at the 3rd competition, completed approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for three types of photoacoustic imaging diagnostic devices and exported research equipment overseas. Nano FIAI, which won the Grand Prize in the student-founded category last year, has begun PoC (proof of concept) with major battery and manufacturing corporations after raising seed investment.
This year's King of Kings will be held on the 30th at the B Hall Plus Stage of COEX in Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. With Korea National University of Science and Technology (KENTECH) newly joining, the number of host universities has increased to six, and the number of finalist teams has also reached 12 companies.
Technologies across various fields are expected to be unveiled, ranging from a portable CT (computed tomography) that can confirm whether all cancerous tissue has been removed in an operating room within six minutes, to a device that accurately identifies robot locations even in factories where visibility is obscured by dust and smoke, to an AI platform that handles video production, editing, and collaboration in one place.
In the faculty-founded category, △Militrack (KAIST) △AI Robotics (DGIST) △Vidal Sonic (UNIST) △Onion AI (GIST) △Acellon (POSTECH), and Greenepfl (KENTECH) will take the stage.
In the student-founded category, △Colbit (KAIST) △LMN Tech Biotech (DGIST) △Elba(UNIST) △Assist (GIST) △Astro Matt (POSTECH), and Earth Earth (KENTECH) will engage in a heated competition on the final stage.
The two Grand Prize-winning teams will be awarded the Vice Prime Minister's Award (Ministry of Science and ICT Minister's Award) and a prize money of 3 million won. The four Excellence Award-winning teams will receive the Chairman's Award from the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation and 1 million won in prize money, while the six Encouragement Award-winning teams will each receive the MoneyToday Representative's Award and 500,000 won in prize money.
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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