Korea's startup agency wraps Tokyo program to help deep-tech firms break into Japan

The Korea Startup Agency announced Sunday that it successfully concluded its "Chogagyeok Global IR & PoC in Tokyo" program — part of the Deep-tech Innovation Pioneer Startup (DIPS) project — in Tokyo from June 24 to 26, aimed at helping Korean deep-tech startups enter the Japanese market and attract local capital.

The DIPS project identifies and intensively supports deep-tech startups across 12 emerging industries, including AI and robotics, with the goal of nurturing them into global unicorns.

The three-day event brought together 14 deep-tech startups specializing in core AI and robotics technologies alongside 12 Japanese corporations and 13 local investment firms, creating a platform for the Korean companies to actively pursue capital raising and proof-of-concept (PoC) opportunities as a springboard for expanding into the Japanese market.

The program comprised three main components: an "Investment Demo Day" for attracting overseas capital, an "Open Innovation Meetup" to foster substantive collaboration with local corporations, and mentoring and networking sessions to help startups establish a foothold in the local market.

Over three days of intensive business matching, participants held 31 open-innovation meetups and 12 investment IR pitching sessions. The agency said the event yielded meaningful results, noting that 29 of those sessions led to immediate follow-up discussions confirmed on the spot, raising the likelihood that participating startups will achieve tangible outcomes in the Japanese market.

QueryPie, one of the participating startups, said the event gave it the confidence to break into the heart of Japan's business ecosystem through high-density exchanges with leading local corporations and investors. "We will do everything we can to deliver visible results in the follow-up meetings and PoC processes ahead," the company said.

Meanwhile, the Chogagyeok Global IR program is a specialized initiative designed to help deep-tech startups open overseas sales channels, accelerate growth and attract investment. Having launched in Silicon Valley, the program will expand to Europe after Tokyo, offering diverse business opportunities centered on major global investment hubs.