The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) recently hosted the largest-ever Global Super Gap Tech Conference at the Conrad Seoul Hotel on November 26-27. The conference drew a diverse group of attendees, including pioneering startups, global corporations, public institutions, and international venture firms, focusing on fostering innovation and facilitating global expansion for deep-tech startups in emerging industries.

This year’s conference, themed “The Convergence of AI and New Technologies: New Possibilities Created by Startups!” delved into how merging core technologies across 10 key sectors such as AI, system semiconductors, and big data can drive radical innovation. The event saw a significant increase in side events, focusing on technology forums for new industries compared to the previous year.

Minister Oh Youngju highlighted the critical role of deep-tech startups in spearheading global economic and technological progress. She outlined MSS’s ongoing initiatives to nurture these startups, including specialized support programs for AI and fabless startups, and fostering partnerships with major corporations.

The conference opened with an awards ceremony recognizing leading startups and their corporate partners for their innovations and contributions to the industry. Notable among the honorees was Nota Inc. The event also featured a keynote speech by Professor Toby Walsh from the University of New South Wales, who discussed the potential and development of AI technologies and the pivotal role startups play in this sector.

Below are 10 Korean deep-tech startups that won the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award.

• Repla: A plastic recycling pretreatment solution using bacteria with plastic degradation activity.
• Moreh: Moreh AI Infrastructure Platform.
• CloBot: Universal autonomous driving solution ‘Chameleon’ and heterogeneous robot FMS and control solution ‘Croms.’
• Bear Robotics Korea: Indoor delivery robot with 100% autonomous driving technology featuring obstacle recognition and avoidance.
• Nota: Edge AI development platform and solution software based on AI model lightweight and hardware optimization technology.
• Smart Radar System: Autonomous vehicles and industrial 4D imaging radar.
• Voda: High-performance smart vision cameras and video storage devices.
• S2W: AI-based cyber threat intelligence platform.
• Nex-i: New therapeutic NXI-101 challenging the limits of immune checkpoint inhibitor resistant cancer.
• IMBDx: Technology for extracting and analyzing cancer DNA in blood for precise and early cancer diagnosis.

Over the course of the event, participants engaged in 13 technology forums across various emerging industries and took part in nine ancillary events including Global IR sessions and Public Institution Purchasing Consultations. The forums offered insights from global experts on new industry technologies and strategies for scaling and globalizing AI-driven startups.

Additionally, the conference hosted an exhibition where startups, including CES 2025 Innovation Award winner NTWICK Co., Ltd., showcased their cutting-edge technologies, providing a tangible glimpse into the innovative capabilities and future potential of the super gap startups.