BMW Group Technology Office Korea joins Asia's largest startup festival for 6th consecutive year

BMW Group Technology Office Korea announced Tuesday that it participated for the sixth consecutive year in NextRise 2026, Asia's largest global startup event, held June 18-19 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

NextRise is a leading Korean venture and startup event co-hosted by four domestic institutions, including Korea Development Bank and the Korea International Trade Association. It brings together startups, investors and corporate representatives to explore business partnerships and share innovative technologies and expertise. Now in its eighth edition, this year's event drew more than 530 startups, over 170 large and mid-sized domestic and foreign companies, and more than 120 venture capital firms — the largest turnout in the event's history.

BMW Group Technology Office Korea has attended NextRise every year since 2021. This year, it used the event to showcase the BMW Group's innovation activities and key achievements within the domestic startup ecosystem and to explore collaboration opportunities with companies across a range of industries.

Last year, tech scout managers with specialized expertise were on-site throughout the two-day event, holding 126 discussions on potential technology collaboration with representatives from some 2,700 domestic venture companies.

The BMW booth featured an interactive display based on the "BMW Technology Trend Radar," highlighting future technology areas and directions the BMW Group is currently focused on, helping visitors gain a more intuitive understanding of key technology trends.

This year's booth also showcased successful collaboration cases between the BMW Group and global startups, deepening visitors' understanding of the group's open innovation activities. In addition, tech scout managers with expertise across various technology fields were stationed on-site, conducting 205 meetings with representatives from approximately 1,800 domestic venture companies and startups to discuss potential partnerships.

BMW Group Technology Office Korea serves as an internal "think tank" for BMW, drawing on analysis and research into the domestic technology ecosystem and social trends. The office identifies innovation partners in the Korean market, validates new solutions through technology demonstrations, sample testing and proof-of-concept projects, and supports promising venture companies in their growth and global expansion.