The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) visited Ventureum, a young AI startup incubator run by the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), on August 13, holding an on-site roundtable to hear firsthand the difficulties facing early-stage founders. At the event, the ministry proposed establishing a competition for young AI startups in the first half of 2027, signaling its commitment to expanding growth support.
 [코리안투데이] Communication roundtable with young AI startups at KTOA’s Ventureum © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that on August 13 it visited Ventureum, an incubation space for young AI startups, at KTOA’s Cellas Hall on Bongeunsa-ro in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and held a communication roundtable with young founders.
The visit was arranged to review a tailored support system spanning from the earliest stages of a startup through to its growth phase, so that AI startups with strong technical capabilities can establish themselves as key growth engines of the domestic AI ecosystem. The ministry has been concentrating its policy resources on lowering the walls of funding, infrastructure, and market access that early-stage companies face.
Ventureum is the product of collaboration between the government and the country’s three mobile carriers. Last August, the ministry held a Government-Carrier AI Investment Cooperation Declaration Ceremony together with the three mobile carriers — SKT, KT, and LG Uplus — and announced that it would make focused investments in nurturing promising AI companies based on the Korea IT Fund (KIF), a private fund financed by the three carriers. Ventureum, jointly operated by KTOA and the three carriers, is likewise run using these resources. In addition, since last year the ministry and KTOA have identified early-stage companies with innovation and growth potential through the Competition to Discover Bold and Challenging AI Startup Investment Targets, providing support such as investment linkage, mentoring, office space, and participation in overseas IR events.
Six young AI startups, along with venture capital (VC) and accelerator (AC) firms, attended the roundtable. The heads of resident companies Uniport, Kamilab, Terramime, and Punchlab, as well as graduate companies May-i and Asta, took part, while the investment community was represented by Quantum Ventures Korea CEO Kim Hak-kyun, Premier Partners Executive Vice President Cho Jun-yeon, and MYSC Deputy CEO Kang Shin-il.
The roundtable opened with KTOA’s introduction of the Status of Startup Support in the AICT Field, followed by a presentation by MYSC Deputy CEO Kang Shin-il titled Analysis of Success and Failure Cases of Young Startups and Recommendations. In the open discussion that followed, the young founders offered a range of views on the difficulties of starting a business and directions for policy improvement. The participating companies raised the need for a competition that could serve as a gateway for young AI startups, while also calling for help in securing infrastructure such as GPUs in the early stages and easing entry barriers through mentoring by veteran entrepreneurs.
Interest on the ground among young founders was also borne out in the figures. After the ministry opened applications in July for a competition aimed at discovering promising AI startups, a total of 268 companies applied, for a competition ratio of 33.5 to 1. Citing this enthusiasm, the ministry proposed holding a competition for young AI startups in the first half of 2027. This is seen as an effort to institutionally back the gateway that founders had requested.
The ministry said it would continue to communicate closely with KTOA and actively reflect the views raised on the ground in its AI startup support policies and competition operations, expanding investment linkage and growth support so that young founders can concentrate on developing their technologies.
Closing the roundtable, Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung said, ‘Young AI founders are the future of Korea’s AI industry and the key players who will drive its global AI competitiveness,’ adding, ‘We will put in place a range of support measures so that young founders with innovative technology and a spirit of challenge can develop their technologies freely without hardship and leap into the global market.’
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