SKT supports the growth of startups that will play an increasingly important role in the 5G era.

SKT announced on the 23rd that it is launching the 'True Innovation' program to support excellent startups in 5G specialized service fields such as AI, metaverse, IoT, cloud, and smart factory.

272 startups applied for this year's "True Innovation" program, and 14 were ultimately selected. The selected startups will receive support for approximately six months, from technological research to commercialization, until February of next year.

Startups selected for this program will be provided with the following support for six months: mentoring and investment review by SKT and venture capital, business collaboration opportunities with SKT, office space and technology/service support, participation in demo days and investor-focused IR events, and participation in exhibitions.

In addition, this year, in conjunction with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 'Big-Star Problem Solver Platform', a cooperation program between large corporations and startups, SKT and SaFor startups carrying out industry cooperation projects, the Korea Institute of Startups and Entrepreneurship Development provides up to KRW 100 million in commercialization funds and up to KRW 300 million in research and development expenses for two years.

SKT stated that through this collaboration with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' program, SKT can discover new growth engines utilizing the creative ideas and technologies of startups, and provide startups with a foundation for growth, such as business opportunities through collaboration with SKT.

Meanwhile, SKT has supported a total of 368 startups through its startup growth support program, which began in 2013 and continues to this year. In 2021, the company established the "ESG Korea Alliance" to support the growth of ESG startups and launched the startup accelerator program "ESG Korea."

Yeo Ji-young, head of SK Telecom’s ESG Alliance, said, “The ‘True Innovation’ program has contributed to creating open, win-win cooperation between large corporations and startups,” and added, “We will strive to further grow the domestic startup ecosystem by providing the practical support that startups need.”