22 startups to pilot AI solutions with major firms, public agencies

A joint pilot program pairing AI startups with large corporations and public institutions to tackle real-world industry challenges has officially gotten underway, with 22 collaboration projects set to advance across manufacturing, finance, content and biotech-health sectors. Participating startups will receive up to 100 million won ($70,000) in commercialization funding and gain access to partner companies' data, facilities and test beds.

The Korea Startup Agency announced Thursday that it held the second meetup day for its Link-up 4 Major Domain AX Program at Tips Town in Seoul on Wednesday, bringing together demand-side companies and startup participants.

Major corporations, public institutions and hospitals joining as demand-side partners include HD Hyundai Samho, Hoban Construction, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korea Water Resources Corporation, the Korea Arboretum and Garden Management Institute, National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital and Korea JobWorld. The 22 collaboration projects they proposed drew applications from 159 startups, a competition ratio of 7.3 to 1.

The 22 selected projects break down into 12 in manufacturing AI, four in biotech-health AI, three in content AI and three in financial AI. Specific initiatives include using AI drones to collect pest and disease data, a dam downstream safety management system, an AI-based large crane rail inspection robot, a residential complex lifestyle support robot, autonomous driving vehicle control technology and an AI-based water purification plant operating system.

In finance, projects include Industrial Bank of Korea's AI-based asset management system for fund customers and Korea Ratings Data's question-and-answer AI analysis system for assessing corporate management status. In the content sector, selected projects include Daekyo's LLM-based automated essay correction system and Korea JobWorld's AI career-design platform.

The biotech-health category covers clinical pilot testing of a treatment-assistance healthcare product at National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital, a construction site safety and health monitoring platform from Hoban Construction, a residential complex AI healthcare platform and an AI drug development project by HLB Life Science's R&D division.

A notable feature of this round is the broad participation of public institutions and hospitals — including Korea Water Resources Corporation, the Korea Arboretum and Garden Management Institute, National Health Insurance Ilsan Hospital and Korea JobWorld — opening up pilot opportunities in areas such as water supply infrastructure, forestry, healthcare and employment that startups have historically found difficult to access.

The event also included sessions on collaboration contracts and intellectual property education, and participating companies discussed the scope of proof-of-concept testing, timelines and data-sharing arrangements.

The Korea Startup Agency, which oversees the program, will provide up to 100 million won per startup in collaboration funding alongside partners including the Seoul Business Agency, the Sungkyunkwan University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation and the National Institute of Toxicological Research. After the pilot phase, the agency plans to support joint commercialization, follow-on procurement and overseas expansion, and will hold a results-sharing event in early next year.

"The fact that 159 startups applied shows just how strong the demand is for access to real industry settings where technology can be validated," Korea Startup Agency chief Yoo Jong-pil said. "We will do our best to ensure that the infrastructure of demand-side companies and the technology of startups translate into tangible business results."