The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Han Sung-sook, hereinafter referred to as MSS) announced that it held a meeting in San Francisco, USA, on the 8th (Thursday) local time, with seven innovative AI startups participating in the ‘Super Gap Startup Global IR in Silicon Valley’ to discuss support measures for global expansion and new policy development. The meeting was held to listen to the global expansion plans of AI startups and to gather suggestions on the difficulties and global support policies they face, aiming to formulate related policies so that AI startups can grow into global unicorns.
The meeting began with a presentation by Kim Jae-pil, CEO of Aidol Co., Ltd., on global expansion plans, followed by discussions on necessary policies such as one-stop support policies for overseas market entry, expansion of R&D for deep tech startups, and the formation of dedicated investment councils composed of global VCs and CVCs. MSS has been holding the ‘Super Gap Startup Global IR’ event annually since 2023 in Silicon Valley and other locations to support the global expansion of deep tech startups with unique technologies in new industries such as AI and system semiconductors.
This year, 20 super gap startups and six excellent TIPS companies will participate. The event will be held on January 9th (Friday) local time at the Plug and Play Tech Center, starting with a keynote speech by David Parekh, CEO of SRI International, followed by reverse pitching by VCs and CVCs, six state governments including Arizona, IR pitching by super gap and TIPS companies, and panel talks on the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem.
About 100 attendees, including global companies like AWS, US state governments, overseas VCs, CVCs, ACs, investors, and technology agents, will listen to IR pitches from excellent Korean deep tech startups and engage in networking. First Vice Minister Noh Yong-seok stated, “Securing demand and attracting investment in the global market is essential for AI startups to grow,” and added, “We will do our utmost to reflect the suggestions and help domestic AI startups grow into AI unicorns through global expansion.”