Hyundai E&C backs construction safety startups with open innovation showcase

Hyundai E&C is deepening its collaboration with startups to expand the on-site application of innovative construction safety technologies and build an open innovation ecosystem across the construction industry.

The company held the "2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Demo Day" on Wednesday at Startup Venture Campus Seoul (SVC Seoul) in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

The event was designed to promote a culture of safety on construction sites and accelerate the deployment of safety innovations in the field. A total of 12 companies participated — startups selected through the "2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge" launched in March, as well as construction safety innovators identified through Hyundai E&C's existing open innovation programs — presenting their technologies and collaboration outcomes.

The H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge is an open innovation program launched for the first time this year, bringing together the government, local authorities and private construction companies to identify innovative firms in the construction safety sector and expand the field application of promising technologies.

The demo day featured startup investor-relations pitches and presentations of collaboration case studies with Hyundai E&C, covering safety innovation technology, safety equipment, safety culture, and health and environmental fields. Exhibition booths were set up at the venue to showcase the technologies, and business meetings were arranged between construction industry players and investment institutions.

The 12 participating startups comprised six companies selected through the 2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge — Crabs, Muav Motion, Enkia, Construction Partner, Beyond-R and Human & Space — along with six others currently collaborating with Hyundai E&C after being selected last year through programs including the Startup Leap Package: Geobi Meta, Seongwoong P&C, Saeim, C-Tech Solution, Sweet & Data and Silicon Cube.

At the event, C-Tech Solution and Silicon Cube presented their collaboration case studies with Hyundai E&C, sharing results from the field application of a mobile-based multilingual safety and health education platform and a construction equipment license plate recognition and automated inspection system, respectively.

"This demo day was an opportunity to share the outcomes of our collaboration with startups holding innovative construction safety technologies, and for the construction industry and the startup ecosystem to explore ways to work together," a Hyundai E&C official said. "We will continue to expand technology validation and field application with outstanding startups, contributing to the creation of a construction safety innovation ecosystem and the spread of a safety culture."

Meanwhile, Hyundai E&C recently received green technology certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for a technology that can dramatically reduce energy consumption in concrete curing.