[Seoul CCEI x IT Donga] Challenge K-Startup is the largest startup competition in Korea, jointly hosted by 10 government ministries and agencies. Among them, the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center operates the general division of the Innovation Startup League. IT Donga takes a look at promising startups that have grown together with the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center.

Every year, numerous startups gather for “Challenge! K-Startup,” the nation’s largest startup competition jointly hosted by 10 government ministries and agencies (Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Education, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Defense Acquisition Program Administration, and Korean Intellectual Property Office). The competition selects and rewards startups across a wide range of sectors, including defense, content, sports, tourism, environment, women, new real estate industries, and intellectual property. Existing entrepreneurs can participate in the Startup League, while prospective entrepreneurs can compete in the Pre-Startup League, and the total prize pool reaches KRW 1.38 billion.


Since the competition began in 2016, 130 startups that have won the grand prize have hired 2,093 employees, attracted investment totaling KRW 839.2 billion, and generated KRW 217.7 billion in sales. The 2025 competition saw participation from 7,377 startups, the largest number to date. Through preliminary leagues organized by each ministry or agency, 225 startups advanced to the integrated finals. Among them, 15 teams from the Pre-Startup League and 15 from the Startup League, a total of 30, advance to the final King of Kings match. Based on the evaluation results of the King of Kings match, each league awards 20 teams in total, including one grand prize winner, a top excellence award (TOP 3), an excellence award (TOP 7), and an encouragement award (TOP 10).

Among participating organizations, the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center (hereinafter Seoul CCEI) operates the general division of the Innovation Startup League. This division is highly popular, attracting around 1,000 startup applications each year, and Seoul CCEI consistently produces award-winning results in it. For this year’s competition, 1,122 startups applied through Creative Economy Innovation Centers nationwide, and among them, 40 startups that enhanced both their technological capabilities and growth potential with support from Seoul CCEI advanced to the general division of the Innovation Startup League integrated finals.


Seoul CCEI provides a wide range of support to startups that have advanced to the general division of the Challenge! K-Startup 2025 Innovation Startup League integrated finals, including networking with past winning startups and corporate open innovation meetups with large enterprises. It also offers IR pitching consulting, capacity-building programs, and business linkage with regional Creative Economy Innovation Centers. The structure is designed to help startups strengthen their fundamentals and highlight their competitive advantages.

Based on support from Seoul CCEI, 40 startups advanced to the Innovation Startup League (general) integrated finals and competed in the preliminary leagues organized by the respective ministries and agencies in Challenge! K-Startup 2025. Among them, 10 teams advanced to the integrated finals. These included: ▲ “Planclab,” a company that produces semiconductor digital lithography systems attachable to microscopes ▲ “RONIC,” which introduced a modular AI cooking robot cube ▲ “AMusly,” manufacturer of Amphibian, a process control optimization solution that manages variability in semiconductor manufacturing ▲ “SOMNI,” an AI content company that addresses office workers’ fatigue and insomnia ▲ “Teamlimited,” which offers an online and offline receipt-based target marketing solution ▲ “HOPI,” which supports autonomous driving in environments such as indoors and underground where GPS signals are unavailable, among others.


Also advancing to the integrated finals and demonstrating their capabilities were: ▲ “RIAD Corporation,” which developed an LLM-based automated quotation and reservation AI platform exclusively for global B2B travel agencies ▲ “PulseAd,” which introduced an AI-based connected retail media platform aimed at improving e-commerce advertising efficiency for retail sellers ▲ “Beyond Medicine,” which developed the world’s first digital therapeutic specialized for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) by combining AI-based facial recognition technology with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) content ▲ “Pepper & Salt,” a company that is developing a one-stop K-content solution service based on content value analysis (patented).

Among the startups that participated in the integrated finals with support from Seoul CCEI, AMusly, Planclab, PulseAd, and RIAD Corporation advanced to the King of Kings match, where only 30 out of the 7,377 participating startups in Challenge! K-Startup 2025 are selected. In the subsequent King of Kings competition held on December 12 at COEX in Seoul, Planclab won an excellence award in the Pre-Startup League, while in the Startup League, RIAD Corporation received a special award and AMusly and PulseAd each received an excellence award.


Companies that win awards at Challenge! K-Startup 2025 will subsequently receive follow-up support, including preferential evaluation in various startup support programs such as the Pre-Startup, Early-Stage, and Growth Packages.

Seoul CCEI stated, “For the past 10 years or so, it has actively supported startups. In 2026, Creative Economy Innovation Centers nationwide will continue to support companies advancing to the Challenge! K-Startup Innovation Startup League through better programs and one-stop startup support centers.”

Reporter Cha Joo-kyung, IT Donga (racingcar@itdonga.com)

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