It is the week for South Korea’s biggest global startup festival COMEUP 2021, which will take place for three days from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday, November 19, with a mix of online and offline events. Korean startup Haim Bio received $20 million from a US fund operated by A&P for its anti-coronavirus technology. Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), the world’s largest shipbuilding group, is said to launch a fund to support promising startups in the digital health care and bio industries. Korean video production platform, Video Monster, gets ranked in the top 5 at the ‘Vietnam Startup Wheel 2021′ and Korea launches’ flying taxi.’
COMEUP 2021 to start from Nov 17; Registrations still open for participation
South Korea’s biggest global startup festival COMEUP 2021, will kick off on November 19, where global startups, investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, corporates, will be meeting on one platform.
COMEUP is one of the most extensive and renowned global startup festivals for innovative startups. COMEUP 2021 will take place for three days from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday, November 19 at the Dongdaemun Digital Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, to strengthen communication and exchanges between innovative startups, global investors, and global companies. The event will be a mixture of online and offline events, and will strengthen communication and exchanges between startups, global investors, and global companies.
The event will provide growth opportunities for innovative startups with conferences, IR presentations by COMEUP STARS, an open innovation showcase from global companies, biz matching, etc. Startups will be given practical assistance to become global startups with special events including “Challenge! Finding the Best K-Startup” and “Global Startup Day, ” biz matching, networking events for old and new startups, and many more events. 84 distinguished speakers and panels, who are also leaders in the startup ecosystem around the world, will join to share their outlook on the future of the startup ecosystem and the global business trend.
Organizing Committee Chairperson AHN Seong-u commented, “COMEUP is a festival for innovative startups that are leading the grand transformation post-COVID. It is the largest startup festival in Korea, where promising startups in various fields, including PropTech, AI, mobility, and healthcare, will come together.” He added, “We will provide all necessary support to ensure that COMEUP will contribute to closing out 2021 as a ‘year of startups.”
U.S. fund to invest $20M in Korean firm’s anti-coronavirus technology
Source: UPI
South Korean startup Haim Bio announced that a U.S. fund operated by A&P Partners had agreed to invest $20 million in its anti-coronavirus technology. Under the agreement announced last Thursday, the companies plan to set up a joint venture, Elysium Cell Bio USA, in Virginia.
Haim Bio CEO Kim Hong-yeoul said A&P Partners made the investment proposal after his research on inorganic polyphosphates was published this year. In July, a team of global scientists — led by Kim and Massimo Zollo from Italy’s CEINGE Institute — discovered that inorganic polyphosphates inhibit infection and replication of the COVID-19 virus.
The team said that inorganic polyphosphates could be delivered via nasal spray to kill most viruses in infected primary human epithelial cells. The findings were featured on the front cover of Science Signaling, a family publication of Science journal.
“Subsidiaries of Elysium Cell Bio will be established in South Korea and Italy this month. Talks are also underway with a famous South Korean pharmaceutical company for future cooperation,” Kim told UPI News Korea.
Video Monster achieves TOP5 of ‘Vietnam Startup Wheel 2021’
Source: Platum
Video Monster, a provider of automatic template-based online video production service, ranked top 5 on the international track at ‘Vietnam Startup Wheel 2021’ (hereinafter ‘Startup Wheel’) held non-face-to-face in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The Startup Wheel is the ninth year event hosted by the ‘BSSC (Business Startup Support Center)’, a startup support organization under the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and is the best local startup competition in Vietnam. It is a startup event in which startups, venture capital (VC), investors, and institutional officials from all over the world participate.
At this year’s Startup Wheel event, Video Monster was named in the Top 5 track ranked by the combined scores of the judges’ scores on business models and pitching and the virtual investment rankings received in the semi-final round, and on November 5, in Ho Chi Minh City.
Video Monster CEO Jeon Dong-hyeok said, “To be ranked in the TOP 5 on Startup Wheel, which is also considered the largest startup event in Asia, is a great achievement that shows the Southeast Asian market that Video Monster entered this year, the fit and growth potential of Video Monster.” 19, we will preoccupy the Southeast Asian market with various business models to keep pace with the growing e-commerce and online advertising markets in the non-face-to-face era that has arrived more quickly.”
HHIH to launch W34b fund for digital health care and biotechnology
Source: The Korea Herald
Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. (HHIH), the world’s largest shipbuilding group, said last Wednesday it will launch a 34 billion-won ($28.8 million) fund to support promising startups in the digital health care and bio industries.
The fund will help the company advance into the digital health care market and seek new business opportunities, HHIH said in an emailed statement.
HHIH will invest in telemedicine, digital therapeutics, artificial intelligence-based diagnostics and new biomedicine development, the company said.
The fund will be joined by Mirae Asset Securities Co., a local brokerage firm; Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co.; Daewoong Pharma, a local pharmaceutical company; and Asan Foundation, which operates Asan Medical Center, HHIH said.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, South Korea’s ninth-largest conglomerate, has been increasing its investment in hydrogen, AI and robot businesses since last year.
