Maeil Business Newspaper [Science] Bioventures Breaking Into US Market<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Photo: Awardees from the Startup Pitch Competition at UKC 2019. From left to right: Prof. Hong-taek Han (UCLA), Sun Jay Yoo (CortiTech), Soojin Jun (Jun Innovations), Mingu Kang (Aris Technology), Sooyoun Yu (Chromanose), Prof. Junghoon Lee (Telofarm), Jun-Seok Oh (KSEA). [Photo by = KSEA]

US-Korea Conference (UKC) 2019 was held in Chicago, USA from July 14^th to 17^th. UKC 2019 is the biggest Korean conference with over 1000 Korean professionals attending, including Korean-American scientists and engineers. Among a variety of exclusive sessions and forums, ‘Entrepreneurship Symposium’ was the most popular session in this year’s UKC. The session was organized to provide networking opportunities for venture entrepreneurs from Korea and the US.

Also, a ‘Startup Pitch Competition’ was held during the symposium, with Korean and American startups competing. Dr. Kyeong Ho Yang, Vice President of the Korean-American Innovative Technology Engineers and Entrepreneurs (KITEE), explained that “over 30 startups from Korea and the US participated from a variety of fields such as biotechnology and AI.” A total of 11 companies were selected as final presenters—5 Korean teams (JUNGGAM Onia, Lawfully, MOIN, Telofarm, Biot) and 6 American teams (Aris Technology, Chromanose, ?????, CortiTech, Jun Innovations, TeraImmune). At the conference on 17^th, they each delivered presentations in front of a panel of judges comprised of venture investors, patent lawyers, entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers from Korea and the US.

Winners of the competition were Korea’s Telofarm (1^st Prize), America’s Jun Innovations and Aris Technology (2^nd Prizes), and Chromanose and CortiTech (3^rd Prizes). Telofarm, founded by Seoul National University Professor Junghoon Lee, has succeeded in commercializing agricultural sensors, and is now aiming to break into the global market. The judges explained that the innovative technology of Telofarm, combining ICT and agriculture, presented much potential for future expansion of agriculture. With this award, Telofarm is qualified to compete as UKC representative at the ‘K-Global 2019’ held in Silicon Valley in September. They are also participating in US Silicon Valley Accelerator Program funded by KIC Silicon Valley, an organization under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Jun Innovations and Aris Technology also received the chance to participate in the Silicon Valley Accelerator Program and 1 year funding from ‘Born2Global’ as additional prizes.

The business sector is welcoming this year’s competition as a great opportunity exclusive to UKC. There are many Korean startups who wish to reach the US market but don’t have the knowledge. “Korean-American scientists and engineers have talked about mentoring Korean startups who want to expand to the US,” said Vice President Yang. “We took this idea and decided to host a startup competition at UKC.” The Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) have affiliations such as Small Business Committee and KITEE. “The biggest benefit of the competition at UKC is that Korean startups have the opportunity to talk and connect with other entrepreneurs and investors in the US over the course of 3 days. They can get a grasp of what the American market is like and meet potential businesses partners,” said Vice President Yang. KSEA is planning to continue events such as this at future conferences.

INNOPOLIS Foundation, a public institution affiliated with the Ministry of Science and ICT, visited UKC 2019 with 10 industry professionals from small and medium businesses, and government-funded research institutes. They held the ‘UKC 2019 Connected and Automated Vehicle Forum.’

The reason for bringing professionals to the US was to experience firsthand the changes in the self-driving vehicles industry. “A majority of self-driving cars will run on electricity,” said Sung-kwang Yang, President of INNOPOLIS Foundation. “In this case, industries related to sensors, communications, and mapping will grow exponentially. However, the Korean automotive industry only has the system of small businesses depending on large companies. Korea’s car conglomerates do not spare any time in allowing small- and medium-sized businesses to prepare for the future of self-driving cars. In order for Korean small- and medium-sized businesses to survive, they themselves had to come and see the situation in the US where self-driving cars are growing in popularity.”

[Chicago = Ho-seop Won]

Link to article https://www.mk.co.kr/news/it/view/2019/08/661630/