According to Yonhap News,

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) organized a meeting between startups in South Korea and companies from France such as Thales and L'Oréal Korea.

On May 8, the MSS held the "K-Startup X France Meetup Day" event.

This event was held to commemorate the participation of three French companies—Thales, L'Oréal Korea, and Air Liquide—in the MSS’s flagship public-private partnership startup support initiative, the "Global Corporate Collaboration Program."

Since its launch in 2019, this program has grown to include 13 participating companies, with France-based manufacturing software company Dassault Systèmes joining in 2020.

During the event, representatives from four French companies encouraged the startups selected for their respective programs.

Dassault Systèmes has been providing solution licenses, technical training, and consulting support for startups in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare sectors.

L'Oréal Group joined the program this year to select and support startups in the fields of digital innovation and research. Thales is focused on identifying promising startups in the deep tech (frontier technologies) sector, assisting them with the Thales cloud platform, technical and business consulting, and specialized training.

Air Liquide, an industrial gas company, aims to discover promising startups in eco-friendly energy sectors such as hydrogen and secondary batteries, offering support for technological advancements and business growth.

The MSS announced a new name for the "Global Corporate Collaboration Program"—"Around X."

"Around X" is meant to signify a vision of creating infinite possibilities through connection and expansion.

Minister Oh Young-ju stated, "With its innovative startup ecosystem, France is a key partner in the startup field for Korea," expressing gratitude to the leading global companies of France for their interest and support for K-startups.

She added, "The global corporate collaboration program, now rebranded as Around X, will continue to serve as a platform for collaboration between global companies and our startups, and the MSS will spare no efforts in supporting it."



aeran@yna.co.kr

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Source: Yonhap News (May 8, 2025)

** This article was translated from Korean.