Mercedes-Benz Korea to test future mobility tech with 4 local startups

Mercedes-Benz Korea plans to test future mobility technologies — including autonomous driving and electrification — as well as broader business operations challenges, using technology developed by local startups.

Mercedes-Benz Korea held the kickoff event for its open innovation program Startup Autobahn Korea 2026 at Seoul Square in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. The company announced Thursday that it has begun about 100 days of proof-of-concept testing with four finalist startups.

Startup Autobahn is a global open innovation platform launched by Mercedes-Benz Group headquarters in 2016. It was first introduced in Korea as Startup Autobahn Korea in 2020, and this year marks its seventh edition.

The four startups selected this year are CogCom, Wonderslab, Nano Miracle and Bright. To focus on projects with the potential to produce substantive research and development outcomes over the mid- to long-term, this year's program centered its collaboration areas on AI. As a result, three of the four selected projects were built around AI-based technology. The startups will work on real-world business and technology challenges proposed by Mercedes-Benz Korea's in-house departments.

"Startup Autobahn Korea is a program that connects startups' innovative technologies with real-world business challenges," said Shirin Emira, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea. "Our goal goes beyond simply discovering promising technologies — we aim to prove their potential within Mercedes-Benz's business and mobility environment, leading to tangible outcomes and continued collaboration."

The collaboration projects by company are CogCom's AI-based vehicle test issue management, Wonderslab's AI-based work knowledge management, Nano Miracle's AI-based route generation for autonomous driving verification, and Bright's 800-volt wireless charging system for electric vehicles.

This year's program in particular expanded its scope beyond AI-driven work efficiency to include vehicle development and verification, autonomous driving, and next-generation EV charging technology. The expanded scope aims to test the feasibility of applying these technologies in the automotive industry. The four startups will carry out phased technology verification through December, and based on the final results, the company will review possibilities for practical application, further technology development and follow-up collaboration.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz Korea is taking part this year as an anchor company for Startup Venture Campus Seoul, expanding its points of contact with the local startup ecosystem. The company plans to engage with a range of startups to uncover new collaboration opportunities and to help build an open innovation ecosystem that can lead to substantive business partnerships between startups and established companies.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea has been broadening its customer touchpoints through a range of marketing activities. These recently included launching the second-half 2026 programs for the Mercedes-AMG Experience, which lets participants experience the powerful performance of Mercedes-AMG vehicles. Another is the Mercedes-Benz SUV Experience, which offers off-road driving experiences with Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles.