BUSAN — All six startups recommended by the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation have been selected for TIPS, the government's technology startup support program. The center said the outcome demonstrates its startup sourcing and investment capabilities as a public accelerator, while opening a channel for technology startup funding — long concentrated in the greater Seoul area — to flow into the Busan region.
The center said on the 13th that all six startups it recommended to TIPS this year were selected, with two chosen in each of the first, second and third rounds of evaluation. The selected companies are Sasasa, Jobex, C3V, Wit Global, Keep Corporation and Golden Brain Care. The center exercised its recommendation rights for the first time after being designated a TIPS operator in October last year.
TIPS is a private investment-led technology startup program in which private operators identify and invest in startups with proven technology and growth potential, and the government provides linked research and development funding. Starting this year, R&D support has been expanded to as much as 800 million won over two years, and companies can also tap funding for commercialization and overseas marketing. For startups, the program offers a chance to secure capital for technology development and business expansion on the back of private investment.
Among the selected companies, Keep Corporation and Golden Brain Care plan to advance their technology and enter overseas markets, building on seed investment from the center and their TIPS selection.
Keep Corporation operates Ippuda, an artificial intelligence medical tourism platform that connects foreign patients with Korean medical institutions. The app lets foreign users seeking Korean medical services in areas such as cosmetic surgery, dermatology and dentistry search for providers and request consultations. The platform supports four languages — Japanese, English, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese — and has drawn about 10,000 monthly users and signed up 35 partner medical institutions in Korea since launch. Cumulative investment raised totals 1 billion won. With the TIPS selection, the company will upgrade the platform and begin developing Sophie AI, an AI medical tourism concierge service.
Golden Brain Care is a digital healthcare company founded by speech rehabilitation specialists and AI developers. It develops and operates Brain Friends, a platform for language and cognitive training that can be used by children through older adults at institutions and at home. The company is refining technology that analyzes voice and facial data together and quantifies training results, with the goal of developing software as a medical device. It plans to expand a subscription model linking institutions and households, and is also exploring entry into the Japanese and U.S. markets.
For the results to translate into growth for the local startup ecosystem, the key will be converting the selections into follow-on investment, higher revenue and a foothold in overseas markets. The center said it will continue to identify promising startups and support the growth of local technology companies by linking them to TIPS and other support programs.
"In our first round of recommendations as a TIPS operator, every company was selected," said Kim Yong-woo, chief executive of the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. "We will actively identify startups with strong technology and growth potential to invigorate Busan's startup ecosystem."