The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced that it will publicly recruit open innovation demand companies* and collaboration startups to participate in the “Public-Private Collaboration Project for Open Innovation” in the second half of the year, from Thursday, July 24 to Monday, August 18.
* Large enterprises, medium-sized enterprises, and public institutions seeking to collaborate with startups to enter new markets, etc.

The demand-based track being announced this time will, as before, support the entire process from meetups and matching between demand companies and startups as part of the “new collaboration type,” and will also pilot the “follow-up collaboration type,” which supports performance generation for companies that have already established collaborative relationships.

Open innovation projects progress through repeated trial and error across each stage—from project planning and partner matching to technology verification and commercialization. However, many open innovation support programs have only provided one-off support for early-stage collaboration, making it difficult to effectively drive tangible commercialization outcomes.

To address this, MSS plans to establish a step-by-step support system by linking open innovation programs scattered across various institutions. The newly introduced “follow-up support track” will support continued collaboration between demand companies and startups that have already verified collaboration compatibility and commercialization potential through initial open innovation programs* run by public institutions and private companies.
* Startup open innovation call-for‑programs run internally by large enterprises or open innovation support institutions

Through this call, approximately 20 collaboration teams will be selected, and the chosen startups will receive up to KRW 60 million in collaboration funding, along with customized support such as consulting and specialized training needed for collaboration. In addition, participating startups will also be offered opportunities for R&D*
*  MSS’s Startup Growth Technology Development Program (up to 1.5 years, KRW 200 million) and Purchase-Linked R&D Program (up to 2 years, KRW 600 million)

Details of the program announcement can be found on the MSS website (http://www.mss.go.kr). Applications for the “new collaboration type” can be submitted via Daegu Startup Hub (https://startup.daegu.go.kr), and for the “follow-up collaboration type” via the K-Startup portal (http://www.k-startup.go.kr).

CHO Kyung-won, Director General for Startup Policy, stated, “We expect to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of support by linking open innovation support programs.”

He added, “We will establish a continuous support system based on the performance at each stage of open innovation to promote ‘growth for all’ through open innovation.”