On October 1 (Wednesday), the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister HAN Seongsook) announced that it visited AI startup Wrtn Technologies Co., Ltd. and held an “AI Startup Roundtable” with representatives of promising AI startups to discuss strengthening open innovation support for innovative AI startups in four key domains^*, including manufacturing.

* ① Manufacturing, ② Bio & Health, ③ Content, ④ Finance

This roundtable is the ninth policy field tour in the startup and venture sector, organized to reflect voices from the startup field into policy.

It was organized to discuss, from multiple perspectives with AI startup leaders and experts, the policy direction for supporting innovative AI startups that will take the lead in driving the AI transformation (AX) of major industries, enterprises, and small businesses, in order to realize the national agenda of becoming “the world’s best user of AI.”

The roundtable began with a presentation on “Global AX Technology Trends” by CHOI Jaesik, CEO of INEEJI and member of the Industrial AX Subcommittee of the National AI Strategy Committee.

This was followed by demonstrations of Wrtn’s “AI Agent Technology for Small Businesses” and VUNO’s “Healthcare Solution Technology Using AI Trained on Medical Data Such as X-rays.” It concluded with responses to difficulties and suggestions regarding “Domain-Specific AI Startup Support Policies.”

AI startup leaders attending the roundtable primarily suggested that the MSS strengthen open innovation by providing customized matchmaking and collaboration between AI startups and demand-side companies, such as large corporations, based on the value chains of sectors like manufacturing and bio. They emphasized the Ministry’s role in helping AI startups validate AX technologies, generate tangible outcomes, and expand their market opportunities.

Going forward, MSS plans to explore AI demand-side institutions, such as large corporations optimized for the value chains of the four domains: manufacturing, bio & health, content, and finance, in order to foster AI startups in these key areas and strengthen open innovation that supports collaboration with AI startups.

* e.g.) ① Manufacturing: Seven leading AI project areas (Home appliances: LG Electronics, Automobiles:  Hyundai Motor, etc.)
  ② Bio & Health: Pharmaceutical companies (Celltrion, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, etc.), medical institutions (National Cancer Center, etc.)
  ③ Content: Domestic Large Language Model (LLM) providers (KT, Naver Cloud, etc.), broadcasters and content producers
  ④ Finance: Financial companies, public testbeds

Minister HAN Seongsook, who presided over the roundtable, stated, “AI is a key tool that can drive industrial and corporate innovation and improve quality of life, and at the center of this are AI startups that create innovation based on unprecedented ideas and open up new possibilities.”

She added, “Going forward, MSS will actively support a variety of policy measures centered on open innovation with demand-side institutions in each sector to foster innovative AI startups that will lead the AX of key industries, enterprises, and small businesses.”