[Korean Startup Weekly News #107] South Korea Taps Six AI Startups to Bring Public Data to Work for Small Businesses

2/22/2026

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Catch up on last week’s top stories from the startup ecosystem in the Korean Startup Weekly News.

Headline

South Korea Taps Six AI Startups to Bring Public Data to Work for Small Businesses
South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs has picked 6 AI startups in its OpenData x AI Challenge to build real-world tools for small businesses using public data.

South Korea Launches Open Innovation Challenge to Bridge Startups and Industry Giants
South Korea’s MSS is matching ~30 startups with top corps like Kakao Mobility & Samsung through its Open Innovation Challenge (Feb 20–Mar 19). Up to $96,800 in funding per team.

Check out the latest funding news for Korean startups

Diquest Closes $10.5M Pre-IPO Round, Eyes Kosdaq Listing by 2027
Korean AI firm Diquest raises $10.5M in pre-IPO funding to scale its AI contact center solutions, targeting a Kosdaq listing by 2027.

LEESOL Raises $2.07M to Bring Drug-Free Brainwave Therapy to the World
Korean mental health startup LEESOL raises $2.07M in a Series A2 bridge round. Its drug-free Sleepisol wearable has sold 50K+ units across Korea, the US & Japan — and DAYZER is next.

QSTEM Raises $1.5M Seed Funding for hiPSC-Based Hair Loss Solution
Korean biotech QSTEM closes $1.5M seed round for stem cell-based hair loss treatment. Futureplay leads.

Index Robotics Raises $1M Seed Round to Deploy Humanoid Robots on the Factory Floor
Korea’s Index Robotics closes $1M seed round led by Futureplay to bring upper-body humanoid robots to the factory floor. Hardware-first approach, real industrial deployment.

K-Pop Fan Travel Platform Celetrip Secures $1.1M Government Backing
K-Pop fan travel platform Celetrip secures $1.1M in government funding to enhance AI-powered audio guides and personalized tour experiences for 50K+ global fans.

Meet startups that are striving for global expansion through exclusive interviews

[Korean Startup Interview] UBITAS Biotech: Pioneering Next-Generation Protein Degradation Technology to Transform Cancer Treatment
UBITAS Biotech is pioneering Protea-Tac, a first-in-class protein degradation platform that eliminates disease-causing proteins without ubiquitin, achieving proven anti-cancer results.

[Korean Startup Interview] BioArchers: Revolutionizing Oral Drug Delivery with NanoLink™ Platform Technology
BioArchers develops NanoLink™, an oral drug delivery platform using mesoporous silica nanoparticles to transform injectable peptide drugs like GLP-1 into once-weekly oral treatments with dramatically improved bioavailability.

Crit Ventures USA Backs Web3 Fan Platform Meet48
Crit Ventures USA invests in Meet48, a Web3 platform where fans manage virtual idols through blockchain & AI.