The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister OH Youngju) announced that it hosted the '2025 Super Gap Startup Renovation Day' event on Tuesday, May 13 at the Fairmont Ambassador Hotel in Seoul. The event aimed to share the achievements of past support policies for new super gap startups and to announce new global scale-up support initiatives.

This event was organized to showcase the achievements of the ‘Super Gap Startup 1000+ Project’ (“Super Gap Project”)—the Korean government’s only multi-year technology commercialization program launched in 2023 by MSS and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED)—which was designed to move beyond industry-agnostic support policies and instead foster deep-tech startups in specific emerging industries.

It also aimed to announce new scale-up initiatives to help super gap startups successfully enter global markets and grow into key players.

① Results of New Super Gap Startup Selection

 The Super Gap Startup 1000+ Project (DIPS 1000+) is a five-year initiative running from 2023 to 2027 that aims to select and intensively support over 1,000 outstanding deep-tech startups in 10 key emerging industries, including AI and system semiconductors, with the goal of nurturing them into global unicorns that will drive the future of the national economy. As of 2024, 407 startups had been selected and are currently being supported.

In 2025, deep-tech startups with distinctive technologies were recruited through various channels, including public applications, private sector validation, and ministry recommendations. Following a highly competitive selection process, with a public application acceptance rate of 13.7 to 1, a total of 182 startups were ultimately selected.

The selected startups will receive up to KRW 600 million in commercialization funding over a three-year period and, based on separate evaluations aligned with company needs, up to KRW 600 million in R&D funding. In total, they can receive up to KRW 1.1 billion in direct financial support, along with linked support for policy funds, guarantees, and exports.

In addition, the startups will receive support from specialized institutions such as the SNU System-IC Industry Promotion Center at Seoul National University and the Artificial Intelligence Industry Cluster Agency. This includes access to research equipment and infrastructure to accelerate technology development and commercialization, as well as assistance with collaboration with large corporations, attracting investment, and entering global markets.

Moreover, 15 startups that previously received support through the Innovation Startup Package from 2020 for three years were selected as recipients of follow-up support (Beyond Super Gap) based on separate evaluations of their performance in revenue, employment, and investment.

These outstanding startups will receive up to KRW 1 billion in additional commercialization funding over the next two years to support their global scale-up efforts.

② Achievements of Super Gap Startup Support

Since the launch of the Super Gap Project in 2023, two deep-tech unicorns, including Rebellions Inc., have emerged among the 407 supported super gap startups, and 15 pre-unicorns with a corporate valuation of over KRW 100 billion have been created.

In addition, a performance evaluation of the 407 super gap startups selected in 2023–2024 showed notable business achievements: revenue increased by 4.4%, employment by 18.5%, and cumulative investment attracted rose by 43.2% compared to pre-support levels.

Furthermore, through the 'Investment Attraction and Scale-Up Specialization Program,' seven startups secured a total of KRW 32 billion in investment, nine companies were listed on KOSDAQ, and 35 startups received Innovation Awards at CES 2024 and 2025.

③ Global Scale-Up Support Policies

First, MSS will launch a new program called 'Super Gap Link-Up' in four key super gap sectors, such as bio and robotics, where there is strong demand for collaboration and high potential for outcomes. This program will promote partnerships between super gap startups and anchor institutions, such as major corporations, to support market access, investment attraction, and global expansion.

< Link-up Overview >

Field	Main Contents
❶ Bio/Health	(New Pharmaceuticals) Collaboration focused on technology transfer with domestic and global pharmaceutical and biotech companies (Healthcare) Providing opportunities for clinical trials and outstanding product delivery through hospital consortiums
➋ Future Mobility	Supporting market access by leveraging global sales networks after completing PoC and other validations with automakers and Tier 1 suppliers
➌ Robotics	(Physical AI) Supporting market entry by applying AI technologies to physical environments in collaboration with major heavy industry companies (Services) Supporting market access through service robot environment development in partnership with platform and construction conglomerates
➍ Green/Energy	(Green) Promoting product supply after completing joint PoC with major lithium battery companies (Energy) Supporting certification such as NEP and providing access to public procurement channels through collaboration with public institutions

 
Next, to accelerate investment in super gap startups, MSS will establish the ‘Super Gap VC Membership,’ a consortium composed of venture capital (VC) and corporate venture capital (CVC) firms that operate funds in key deep-tech sectors. The initiative will include regular investment pitch events, opportunities for open innovation, and networking activities.
* Super Gap VC Membership: Comprised of a total of 20 firms (9 VC firms and 11 CVC firms)
 
Lastly, MSS will launch and implement the 'Super Gap Tech-IPO Connect' program to strengthen global scale-up by supporting IPOs of super gap startups. This will be done through a consortium composed of major securities firms serving as IPO underwriters, as well as securities firms specializing in SMEs and venture businesses.
  * IPO Consortium: Comprised of a total of eight firms

④ Super Gap Startup Renovation Day

  The event began with a plaque-awarding ceremony led by Minister OH Youngju for 10 representative super gap startups selected in 2025 across the top 10 super gap sectors, including MangoBoost, Inc. in the system semiconductor field. This was followed by a selection briefing by a representative of the super gap evaluation committee, a presentation of support achievements, and the announcement of new support policies.

In particular, the following sessions drew enthusiastic responses from attendees: a presentation by CEO KIM Jooyoung of HYPER ACCEL (a startup selected for the Super Gap Project in 2023) highlighting a successful scale-up support case, and a vision statement by CEO LEE Se-young of the newly selected Wrtn Co., Ltd.

Minister OH Youngju stated, “Over the past two years, MSS Super Gap Project has generated significant achievements for deep-tech startups, yet we continue to hear strong calls from the field for even greater support.”

She added, “MSS will continue to provide comprehensive policy support to ensure that Korea’s deep-tech startups can leverage the Super Gap Project as a springboard to grow into global unicorns.”