GWANGJU < invest Korea

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

Samsung Electronics Co. opened a space to foster innovative startups in southwest region of Korea, holding an opening ceremony on Monday for its C-Lab Outside Gwangju campus.

Samsung’s Creative Lab, or C-Lab, is the electronics company’s program that helps to develop and support creative ideas both in and outside the company. It has been running an in-house idea incubation program since 2012 and later expanded its coverage to start the C-Lab Outside program in 2018 to stimulate the domestic startup ecosystem and to create jobs for young talent.

Sitting in the central business district of Sangmu in Gwangju, the 1,550 square-meter C-Lab campus houses work space, networking area, meeting rooms, offices for partners and rest areas. Gwangju is to be the foundation for innovative artificial intelligence technologists.

Any startup is qualified to apply in an open competition as long as they’re based in Gwangju. Once selected, they can get customized support from Samsung Electronics’ startup specialists. The Gwanju campus will work closely with C-Lab Outside Seoul that has years of experience now and run a wide range of exchange programs.

In November, Samsung Electronics selected five Gwangju-based innovative startups through an open competition whose focus areas were in artificial intelligence, healthcare and materials and parts. Gwangju being the base for national AI innovation was taken into account in the selection process, the company said.

The five selected startups are machine learning solution developer CLIKA Inc., AI-driven biometric identification & payment solution provider Ghostpass, AI-applied animal and stockbreeding management platform developer Intflow Inc., facial recognition-based health monitoring solution provider Gamsungtech, and lastly, radiative cooling material developer FOEL Inc.

These startups will receive financial support of up to 100 million won ($77,000) over a one-year the period, as well as consulting services at each stage of their business growth cycle, potential cooperation opportunities with Samsung Electronics, its affiliates, participation in domestic and overseas exhibitions, and potential sales channels.

C-Lab Outside Gwangju is aimed at facilitating regional economies and creating quality jobs outside the capital region. Samsung Electronics will continue in its steps to help young entrepreneurs outside the capital by opening another C-Lab Outside campus in North Gyeongsang Province next month. Earlier last week, the global electronics giant pledged some 60 trillion won in investment over the next 10 years for balanced regional development.


By Choi Seung-jin and Chang Iou-chung

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Mar. 21, 2023)