Government research institutes accelerate deep tech commercialization push

A commercialization program designed to turn outstanding research from government-funded science and technology institutes into deep tech startups — and guide them through investment and market entry — has officially launched.

The National Research Council of Science and Technology's joint commercialization task force held the "2026 ITX (Idea to Startup Express)" on Thursday at Sangyeonjae Seoul Station, bringing together prospective and existing startup founders from government research institutes to accelerate investment and commercialization.

ITX connects deep tech founders and startups from government research institutes with investment firms and open-innovation managers at large and mid-sized companies, providing access to funding and commercialization opportunities. This year's event drew investment firms with dedicated deep tech funds as well as corporate representatives able to assess real industrial demand.

Participants went beyond simple technology presentations to scrutinize actual commercialization potential — covering proof-of-concept, certification and regulatory approval, market entry, and mass production. Experts conducted comprehensive assessments of investment viability and market potential, and discussed follow-on investment and commercialization strategies.

Technologies reviewed at the event included Mace-On's AI-MACE automated platform for high-aspect-ratio nanostructured wafers, spun out of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials; Flexa's AI factory-linked intelligent medical device manufacturing platform, based on the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology; Itertern's all-solid-state secondary battery anode material, based on the Korea Institute of Energy Research; and Plasma X's low-cost clean hydrogen, ammonia and high-value carbon material production platform, also from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials.

ITX launched last year as a review body that evaluated prospective founders from government research institutes from clinical, regulatory, investment and business perspectives. Starting this year, the program expanded into a full investment and commercialization platform by bringing in venture capital firms and corporate open-innovation managers.

The program is already producing results. Jeong Young-do, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology who presented a bladder cancer diagnostic concept at last year's ITX, refined the business model and founded Float Bio, which went on to win the grand prize in the startup track at the 2026 Science and Technology Startup Competition. Lee Byung-chul, also from KIST, won the grand prize in the pre-startup league of last year's "Challenge! K-Startup" championship after going through the ITX review process.

Deep tech startup teams from government research institutes have swept the top prizes at the Science and Technology Startup Competition for three consecutive years — following Watertreenez in 2024 and XMUT in 2025, this year's teams claimed the grand prize and top honors in both the pre-startup and startup tracks.

The driving force behind these results is what organizers call "convergence-based planned entrepreneurship" — a model that pairs industrial demand with institute research through demand-technology matching, and combines technologies and researchers across multiple institutes through cross-institutional integration. Rather than simply transferring promising technologies, the approach links every stage of the process: market feasibility review, startup team formation, intensive incubation, ITX validation, company incorporation and investment.

"ITX is a forum for validating promising startup ideas from the perspective of investors and industry, and connecting them to real commercialization," said Jo Seong-gyu, head of NST's joint commercialization task force. "We will continue to support research outcomes so they lead to startups and market entry through convergence-based planned entrepreneurship."

Lee Byung-hee, director of the research outcome innovation policy division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said government research institutes are "a treasure trove of deep tech startups," adding that the ministry would "continue to provide support so that outstanding research outcomes quickly translate into actual startups and market entry."