KOTRA launches 'K-Connect AI' expo linking semiconductors to robots with 1,600 firms

A major integrated exhibition bringing together AI technology across industries — from semiconductors and consumer electronics to AI-powered factories and robots — opened Tuesday. More than 1,600 domestic and overseas companies are taking part to share cases of AI adoption in manufacturing and explore overseas business opportunities.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency held the opening ceremony for K-Connect AI at COEX in Seoul on Tuesday, jointly with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

K-Connect AI unites five previously separate specialized exhibitions under a single brand. Anchored by "M.AX" — shorthand for a full-scale AI transformation of manufacturing — the event covers the entire industrial spectrum, from core technologies such as semiconductors to AI-enabled products and services, factory floors and robotics.

The exhibitions will run sequentially for about four weeks through Nov. 7 at COEX in Seoul and Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. About 1,500 domestic companies and 130 overseas firms are expected to participate, with roughly 5,500 international visitors anticipated.

Five exhibitions make up the lineup: the Korea Electronics Show (KES), the Semiconductor Industry Exhibition (SEDEX), the AI Industrial Expo (AI EXPO), the Asia Manufacturing Expo (AMXPO) and Robo World.

KES kicks off the series, running Tuesday through Friday at COEX with a showcase of AI home appliances and consumer electronics. SEDEX, held Wednesday through Friday, will introduce AI semiconductors and other core technologies along with related industrial infrastructure.

The following week, the AI Industrial Expo and the Asia Manufacturing Expo will be held Oct. 21-23 at Kintex. Those exhibitions will focus on technologies applicable to industrial settings, including AI-driven factory operations, manufacturing services and intelligent production equipment.

Robo World follows Nov. 4-7, offering a look at "physical AI" — technology that combines AI with actual machinery in motion — including industrial robots and humanoid robots.

The event is designed not merely to showcase AI technologies sector by sector, but to connect the broader industrial ecosystem from technology development through commercialization to deployment on factory floors.

The government has also been pushing AI transformation in manufacturing as a core industrial policy priority. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Monday announced a project to invest more than 1.4 trillion won ($1.05 billion) in public-private funding through 2030 to accelerate AI adoption in the shipbuilding industry. The initiative aims to extend AI applications beyond production processes to cover equipment and industrial complexes more broadly.

K-Connect AI will also host an international conference and export consultation sessions to help companies respond to these industry shifts.

"MaxCon 2026," a manufacturing AI conference to be held Oct. 21 at Kintex, will feature Raffaello D'Andrea, a professor at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and Park Min-woo, head of Hyundai Motor Group's AVP division, as keynote speakers. Key topics will include AI-based production and operations systems, industrial robots, autonomous manufacturing and case studies from global manufacturers.

A two-day export consultation event connecting domestic companies with overseas buyers will also begin the same day. A briefing session on domestic cases of AI transformation in manufacturing and a special pavilion highlighting related government policies will also be on offer.

"The competitiveness of industrial AI grows when industries, technologies and companies are connected to one another," KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung said. "Through K-Connect AI, held in conjunction with Boom-Up Korea, we will do our best to consolidate the industrial AI capabilities of our companies and build this into a platform for international business cooperation that links overseas demand with domestic technology to deliver real results in global expansion," he said.