The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (Minister Hee-ryong Won Won) has been awarded with the award-winning work of the 'Smart City Startup Idea Contest with Startup Investment Companies' to discover and support prospective startups and new startups with innovative technologies and services related to smart cities. It has finally selected the target of support for the 'Next Innovative Technology Demonstration Project' and announced that it plans to start full-scale start-up and demonstration support.
<Smart City Startup Idea Contest with Window Fighters>
The 'Startup Idea Contest' was promoted by 5 startup investment companies* together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport to discover business ideas and to strengthen the roots of the smart city industry by linking startup support programs.
* Korea Investment Accelerator, Korea University Technology Holdings, Ensle Partners, Korea Value Investment, Pen Ventures Korea
The contest period was held from August 8th to September 8nd, and a total of 9 teams applied, showing a competition rate of over 2:63. A total of 6 ideas were finally selected, two for each start-up investment company, through document and presentation evaluation and open verification of award candidates.
The winners of the awards ceremony held at the Suwon Convention Center on November 11 are as follows.
Ideas such as an indoor spatial information construction solution using autonomous driving robots, an urban development design solution using a highly realistic physics engine, and a hub platform that provides smart home services by linking existing IoT home appliances and home networks are based on cutting-edge technologies. It received high evaluation in terms of commercialization potential, and it is a solution that can preemptively manage various infectious diseases in sewage treatment facilities, housing rental risk (so-called 'can jeonse') inquiry service, and paper cup deposit system link service, etc. Entrepreneurial ideas to solve were noticed.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will award 5 million won each to the 5 best teams and 5 million won each to the 3 excellent teams as the start-up and commercialization funds required for the advancement of ideas and the production of prototypes for this selected team. .
In addition, by January 23.1, startup investment companies participating in the selection process will be provided with an opportunity to participate in the startup program and a space to move in to support the initial startup process, and additionally recommend companies with excellent performance after startup to the TIPS (Private Investment-led Technology Startup Support) program* to provide comprehensive support for startups.
* TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup): A program in which the government provides matching support (up to KRW 7 million) in R&D and start-up commercialization funds, when the TIPS operator invests, fosters, and recommends a promising start-up company.
<Next innovative technology demonstration project>
The Next Innovative Technology Demonstration Project to support technology promotion and market development by providing sprouting companies with innovative technologies and products in the smart city field an opportunity to verify the performance and effectiveness of technologies and products is a start-up that does not have a demonstration opportunity in the early stage of the business. It was promoted for companies within a year.
In particular, the company-demand party matching event* was held for companies having difficulties in finding technology demanders, such as local governments and public institutions, to provide demonstration venues and technology promotion opportunities, and helped to form a corporate human network.
* (1st) Invite customers (local government, public) desired by the company, (2nd) Invite companies desired by the customer to explain the business plan through direct interview, and promote 1:1 consultation and networking
The six technologies that were finally selected are as follows.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport plans to support the demonstration cost of around 1 million won per technology, and the sprouting company is expected to be able to accumulate demonstration results by verifying the performance and effectiveness of technology and products for 6 months at the demonstration customer. It is expected.
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport City Policy Officer Gil Byung-woo said, “This event goes beyond simply selecting excellent ideas and companies, and presents ideas and companies with high growth potential through collaboration with startup investment companies and matching with local governments. It has great meaning in discovering and supporting it,” he said. said.