The 'Around X Cosmic Odyssey Performance Sharing Meeting,' which shares success stories of promising domestic startups entering overseas markets through collaboration with global companies, was held on the 4th at Sebitseom, Banpo Hangang Park, Seoul.

Organized by Next Challenge, the event was attended by over 200 people, including representatives from startups collaborating with global companies such as Google, Intel, L'Oréal, Thales, and Astellas, alumni companies, and venture capital (VC) officials.


Next Challenge is a global accelerator foundation launched in 2019 with approval from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, focusing on creating startup ecosystems and nurturing innovative talent both domestically and internationally. Its main business areas include startup accelerating, investment maintenance and linkage, global collaboration programs, and operating talent development educational institutions (Next Challenge School). It operates local subsidiaries in Seoul, Jeju, Vietnam, Singapore, and other ASEAN regions, conducting various startup support programs.

The event, under the slogan 'Cosmic Odyssey,' focused on presenting a sustainable global expansion growth trajectory for startups and sharing this year's achievements.

Kim Young-rok, CEO of Next Challenge, delivered an opening keynote and welcome lecture, sharing the latest economic and technology trends and the current state of the global startup market under the theme 'Trump International Situation and Startup Depatterning Strategy.' He emphasized that differences in 'perspective,' 'attitude,' and 'mindset' drive innovation, introducing the 'contrarian' idea of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla.

He also mentioned the business fields currently preferred by global startup investors/VCs, highlighting mobility, VR/AR/XR technology, proptech (real estate service industry), gaming, and AI robots as key areas. Additionally, he shared in-depth and realistic insights and opinions on the current domestic and international situation and startup market as a global VC, capturing the attention of the attending startup officials. Finally, he quoted historian Yuval Harari's phrase, 'Those who control data control the future,' emphasizing the importance of 'data power' as a means of production and control.


In the afternoon session, the practical achievements of the Around X project operated by Next Challenge throughout the year were shared. Around X is a startup-global company collaboration program (open innovation) promoted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Startup Promotion Agency. Next Challenge, in collaboration with global companies such as Google (Changgu-mobile service), Intel (Ingenious-artificial intelligence), L'Oréal (Big Bang-research innovation/digital), Thales (Trust My Tech-deep tech), and Astellas (Astellas-pharmaceutical/biotech), is leading the overseas market entry and technology exchange of domestic startups. (Parentheses indicate project name-business field)

On-site, managers from each global company, including Park Geun-nan from Google Korea, Song Yu-ri from Intel Korea, TAN Ye Sheng from Thales Singapore, Kang Sang-ha from L'Oréal Korea, and Chika Ward from Astellas, attended and briefly explained and introduced their collaboration achievements.

According to Next Challenge, a total of 582 companies applied for this year's Around X program, with 127 companies selected, recording an average competition rate of 4.5 to 1. Starting with recruitment in February this year, a total of 114 programs were promoted, including the Global IR Rebuilding in June, Intel AI Summit, Thales Singapore Immersion Week, Vietnam Roadshow in September, and Astellas BIO Japan in October. For this, Next Challenge is collaborating with 28 global institutions and 30 domestic institutions, and has a mentor group of 56 people across 13 countries.


At the performance sharing meeting, representatives from startups collaborating with each global company also attended, presenting their business status, achievements, and future strategies. The Google Changgu program included JamJam Therapeutics (CEO Kim Jung-eun, rehabilitation therapy game program for children with learning difficulties), Money Guard Service (CEO Moon Moon-gyu, non-face-to-face financial borrowing service), the Intel Ingenious program included Mesacure Company (CEO Lee Ji-hoon, Vision AI facial recognition technology), GGQ Company (CEO Lee Yong-soo, game/data analysis), the Thales Trust My Tech program included iPin Labs (CEO Kang Sun-hyuk, geographic information/indoor location measurement technology), Stellavision (CEO Lee Seung-cheol, satellite image analysis service), the L'Oréal Big Bang program included Soojip (CEO Lee Chang-woo, entertainment/planned products), and the Astellas program included Avatar Therapeutics (CEO Cho Seung-hee, cell/gene therapy). They shared practical collaboration experiences centered on PoC (Proof of Concept) success stories, support/cooperation/collaboration content with each global company.

In the subsequent alumni presentation/panel talk session, companies that graduated after participating in the 2023 and 2024 programs took the stage. Weekleaf (CEO Park Jung-yeon, children's educational content) presented as a representative alumni company, sharing past successful experiences and impressions of the Around X program.

In the final session, the VC lecture/panel talk session, global accelerator and VC experts gathered to provide insights into overseas investment trends and strategies. In particular, the ASEAN market entry strategy and in-depth analysis highlighted in CEO Kim Young-rok's lecture continued, exchanging vivid information on local startup trends and market characteristics. Additionally, strategies for entering overseas markets, business expansion possibilities, and market suitability verification methods from an investor's perspective were discussed. The attending panelists agreed on the importance of forming a global partner network and specifically suggested methodologies for pre-verifying risk factors.

An evening networking party was also arranged, providing attendees with an opportunity to establish practical collaboration relationships. An exhibition booth introducing the business items of major startups was also set up on one side of the venue.

Kim Young-rok, CEO of Next Challenge, stated, "Through this performance sharing meeting, we confirmed that the Around X program has become a platform for building a sustainable global growth ecosystem, not just a one-time collaboration," and added, "We will continue to provide strategic network expansion opportunities for the global expansion of domestic startups in the future."

IT Donga Reporter Lee Moon-gyu (munch@itdonga.com)

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