The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has rolled up its sleeves to support domestic semiconductor startups and others entering overseas markets.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it held an IR event targeting global corporations and venture capital firms (VCs) in Silicon Valley, USA for three days starting on the 14th.

This event was attended by 20 deep-tech startups hoping to enter the global market across five new industries, including system semiconductors, future mobility, and robotics.

Participating companies in the ultra-gap startup sector include iChip Co., Ltd., MetisX, Alpha Solutions, and Nemesis Co., Ltd. in the system semiconductor sector, and DeltaX, Morai Co., Ltd., and Microsystems in the mobility sector.

Among these, 11 companies, including MetisX in the system semiconductor field, participated in CES 2024 held in Las Vegas, USA, and in particular, Microsystems, which developed electronic self-cleaning glass for optical sensors for autonomous driving, and Aol Korea, which developed energy storage materials for future vehicles using MOF-based carbon materials, won the CES 2024 Innovation Award.

A networking event with ultra-gap startups, attended by global corporations such as AWS and Applied Materials, and over 30 global investment institutions. The event began with a keynote speech by Christopher Boone, CEO of LCC, followed by reverse investment pitching and panel discussions from large corporations and investment institutions, followed by IR and networking sessions with startups.

On the 15th, to help ultra-gap startups reduce trial and error when expanding overseas and settle in, legal and tax training was provided by experts, including international lawyers. Lectures were also given on investment trends and the environment in Silicon Valley.

On the last day, it was reported that he visited SOSV Venture Capital and Applied Materials to hear about the company's investment direction and conduct a private IR session.

Park Yong-soon, Director General of Startup Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “This year, we plan to focus on supporting global certification and establishing collaboration systems with leading global companies to help ultra-gap startups fully advance into the global market,” and added, “We hope that this IR event will lead to actual investment attraction and serve as a stepping stone for ultra-gap startups to grow into huge new unicorns.”