Festival of Innovation: Successful Completion of the Daedeok Innopolis 50th Anniversary Innovation Company Investment Competition
- Writer Manager
- Date 2023-10-22
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□ The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Jong Ho Lee, hereinafter referred to as the 'MSIT') and the Innopolis Foundation (Chairman Byung Sam Kang, hereinafter referred to as the 'Foundation') announced the successful hosting of the '2023 Innopolis Innovation Company Investment Competition' on October 19th, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Daedeok Innopolis.
* Fund operators for the Innopolis Fund: Innopolis Partners, Daesung Startup Investment, Smilegate Investment, Daedeok Venture Partners, POSCO Technology Investment, K-RUN Ventures, Inlight Ventures, etc.
□ 이This investment competition was organized to discover promising tech companies within the 19 Innopolis zones, including Daedeok Innopolis, and to create scale-up opportunities through communication and collaboration with 20 venture capital investors.
* 19 Innopolis zones: (Metropolitan Zones) Daedeok, Gwangju, Daegu, Busan, Jeonbuk, (Specialized Zones) Ansan, Gimhae, Jinju, Changwon, Pohang, Cheongju, Gumi, Seoul Hongneung, Ulju, Naju, Gunsan, Cheonan-Asan, Incheon Seogu, Chuncheon
ㅇ The competition was divided into two categories based on companies' investment needs: the Early Innovation category for those requiring seed to Series A funding and the Technology Growth category for those needing Series B or higher investment. Preliminary rounds were held starting in July, and the final 12 companies were selected after undergoing about two months of coaching and mentoring to enhance their investment capabilities before advancing to the finals.
ㅇ Notably, this competition featured a citizen participation model where a panel of 50 citizen investors, including aspiring entrepreneurs, university students, and researchers, selected the most impressive presenting companies, allowing citizens to support the growth of promising tech companies.
□ In the final evaluations conducted on-site, in the Early Innovation category, Tot Co., Ltd. from Daedeok Innopolis won the grand prize and received the Minister of Science and ICT Award, while in the Technology Growth category, IV Works Co., Ltd. from Daedeok Innopolis also secured the grand prize and the same award.
ㅇ Following them, EA Force Co., Ltd. from Ansan Small Innopolis and Aittech Co., Ltd. from Incheon Small Innopolis won the top prizes in their respective categories, receiving the Chairman's Award from the Foundation. In third place, Hudson AI Co., Ltd. from Daegu Innopolis and RD Solution Co., Ltd. from Jeonbuk Innopolis received excellence awards.
ㅇ Finally, Cosolus Co., Ltd. from Jeonbuk Innopolis and Aittech Co., Ltd. from Incheon Small Innopolis chosen by the citizen investors as the most impressive presenters, were awarded the Citizen Investor Award in their respective categories.
□ This competition was co-organized by Innopolis Fund operator 'Inlight Ventures,' and a variety of programs were also conducted to enhance the investment capabilities of participating companies, including in-depth consulting, pitch consulting, and real-time mentoring by the Foundation's accelerators, leveraging the investment expertise of private venture capital firms.
□ Chairman Byung Sam Kang of the Innopolis Foundation remarked, "This investment competition introduced many unique and impressive deep-tech companies, such as those in battery recycling and GaN semiconductor wafers. We will continue to provide active support to ensure the investment success of all the companies that made it to the finals, not just the award winners."
| Attachment 1 |
| Event Photos |
| Grand Prize | |
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| Early Innovation Category - Minister of Science and ICT Award: Tot Co., Ltd. | Technology Growth Category Minister of Science and ICT Award: IV Works Co., Ltd. |
| Excellence Award | |
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| Early Innovation Category Chairman's Award from the Innopolis Foundation: EA Force Co., Ltd. | Technology Growth Category Chairman's Award from the Innopolis Foundation: Aittech Co., Ltd. |
| Group Photo | |
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| From left to right: Aittech Co., Ltd. (Excellence Award, Citizen Investor Award), EA Force Co., Ltd. (Excellence Award), Tot Co., Ltd. (Grand Prize), Byung Sam Kang, Chairman of the Innopolis Foundation, Seong Kyung Cho, Vice Minister of Science and ICT, IV Works Co., Ltd. (Grand Prize), Cosolus Co., Ltd. (Citizen Investor Award), RD Solution Co., Ltd. (Excellence Award), Hudson AI Co., Ltd. (Excellence Award) | |
| Attachment 1 |
| Award-winning Companies |
| Award | Catagory | Innopolis Zone | Company Name | Business Item | |
| Grand Prize (Minister of Science and ICT Award) |
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| ⦁Fully automated unmanned solution for diagnosing and dismantling electric vehicle waste batteries |
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| ⦁Production of a material (GaN epi-wafer) that enables current flow by depositing a specific single-crystal layer on a semiconductor wafer |
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| Excellence Award (Chairman's Award from the Innopolis Foundation) |
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| ⦁Extractant for cathode materials from waste lithium-ion secondary batteries |
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| ⦁Smart city solution where robots sort waste |
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| Outstanding Award (Chairman of the Accelerator Association) |
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| ⦁Generative AI-based multilingual dubbing solution |
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| Outstanding Award (Chairman of the Venture Capital Association) |
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| ⦁Environmentally friendly recycling of valuable metals from waste lithium secondary batteries |
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| Citizen Investor Award |
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| ⦁Solvent extractant for recycling cathode materials from electric vehicle waste batteries |
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| ⦁Smart city solution where robots sort waste |
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