Status of the Global Startup Ecosystem
Status of the Seoul Innovation Fund
Status of Startups
Status of Partners

Status of the Global Startup Ecosystem

Try Everything, Seoul

According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2023 published by 'the US Startup Genome', a global startup ecosystem analysis agency, Seoul ranked 12th out of 290 cities in the global startup ecosystem, in terms of Ecosystem Value. was valued at $211 billion.



Startup Genome cited an excellent talent pipeline, innovation-friendly environment, and excellent market access as Seoul's strengths. By industry, following last year, AI & Big Data, Healthcare, Manufacturing & Robotics It has been found to have strengths in the field.



Currently, 20 out of 23 domestic unicorn companies (corporate value of over 1 trillion won, unlisted) are located in Seoul, which has optimized conditions for start-ups.

We anticipate the possibility of further growth of Seoul’s startup ecosystem in that it actively promotes advancement into a startup ecosystem centered on deep tech, such as , bio, and advanced manufacturing.

Seoul Startup Ecosystem Values

2,110hundred million

Seoul Early Stage Investment Funding

36hundred million

Global startup ecosystem ranking

12rank

2023 Startup Genome Announcement Criteria

Total valuation by year (Unit: trillion won)

'#FF7FA6'

The investment subvention amount by year for the early phase (Unit: 100 million won)

'#749EDE'

Global startup ecosystem ranking by year

Status of the global startup ecosystem evaluation

Ecosystem activity
Financing
Networking
Market entry
Knowledge accumulation

2023 Startup Genome Announcement Criteria

Seoul Startup Ecosystem Network

SEOUL OPEN INNOVATION STORYBOOK

서울 오픈 이노베이션 스토리북

Startup Recipe Investment Report(Sep)

In September, investment fell below KRW 1 trillion again to KRW 736.2 billion. If subtracting KRW 450 billion raised by one company, the amount invested in September was less than KRW 300 billion,

Startup Recipe Investment Report(Oct)

The total sum raised in October was only KRW 325.9 billion, the least amount raised all year. It has slipped below KRW 500 billion for the first time. In the second half of the year,

Startup Recipe Investment Report(Nov)

The Monthly Startup Investment Report is a monthly report that compiles information on investments attracted by South Korean startups. It covers monthly startup investment news, trends in the startup ecosystem, and key investment sectors.

100 Promising Startups in Seoul STARTUP

The next unicorn that will change the world
-Startup status at a glance
-Startup Introduction

Seoul to host global startups in 'Try Everything 2022'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is hosting an annual conference for global startups this coming September, looking to make the city a global platform for startups that need a financial boost and good business advice.

Seoul selected as one of 10 best startup cities

‐ Announced by global startup ecosystem research agency Startup Genome, Seoul ranked 10th out of 280 cities ‐ Seoul’s startup ecosystem valued at 223 trillion won ($177 billion), a category of the Funding and Knowledge highly evaluated ‐ Recorded 1st in Funding out of all Asian cities, ‘Invest Seoul’ attracting investment to boost ecosystem ‐ AI, big data, analytics, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and robotics selected as sub-sector strengths ‐ Seoul to enhance performance and create 40 global unicorn companies to rise as one of top 5 economies by 2030

South Korea Seoul #10

"Seoul is a city that dreams, a city that achieves dreams, and a city that makes dreams. A city where startups and youths become stars through innovation and creativity."

Seoul to Open the Era of Online Startup Ecosystem through “STARTUP PLUS”

startup Plus (www.startup-plus.kr), first online startup ecosystem of the Seoul Metropolitan Area opened on April 18, Monday.

A Private Sector-Driven Startup Ecosystem is Going Forward in Seoul

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced on April 26 th, Tuesday that it would promote the policy called Open Innovation to build a private sector-driven startup ecosystem by breaking away from public sector-centered policies such as R&D support, business space provision, and commercialization support.

La startup coreana DoubleMe sumerge Glòries en una experiencia inmersiva mediante realidad aumentada

Barcelona, 5 de agosto de 2021 – A partir del 5 de agosto, los visitantes del centro comercial Glòries podrán vivir una experiencia de lo más inmersiva: descubrir el océano con su propio avatar en su móvil gracias a la tecnología de la realidad aumentada.

Tres experiencias inmersivas familiares

El progreso tecnológico actual es imparable y está comportando un cambio en nuestros hábitos, pero también en nuestras maneras de percibir el mundo.

Cinco startups surcoreanas prueban tecnologías en Glòries

Cinco startups de Corea del Sur apuestan por Barcelona para probar el desarrollo de tecnologías de última generación.

Status of the Seoul Future Innovation Growth Fund

Participating in the virtuous circle of Seoul‘s startup ecosystem

The Future Innovation Growth Fund is a fund that invests in six areas: the 4th Industrial Revolution, smart cities,

cultural contents, startup support, re-challenge support, and Seoul Bio. Seoul City has invested KRW 163.1 billion in the fund, The fund has raised KRW 3.56 trillion and invested in 1,121 companies (as of May 23).



Initially, the fund was targeted to raise 1.124 trillion won over five years until 2023, Combined with the Seoul Metropolitan Government's active investment of financial resources and private investment, the fundraising scale against the target was achieved 294% early.

Total subvention amount

35,663hundred million

Total investment amount

21,167hundred million

Total number of investment companies

1,121companies

As of May 23

Average investment amount by year (Unit: 100 million won)

'#BBABFF', '#7027D4'

Investment status by field (Unit: 100 million won)

'#9759EB', '#D0D0D0'

Classification of the types of industry for investment companies

'#9759EB', '#7BA0EA', '#6FD8D9', '#E87DA8', '#A175AA', '#BBABFF'

Classification of the round for investment companies

'#FF7FA6', '#AA9EE7', '#BAD9FB', '#FFCDA6', '#D0D0D0', '#E0E0E0', '#9EF3F8'

Status of the Seoul Startup Support

Together we scale up startups in Seoul

The city of Seoul has implemented full-scale startup policies since 2009 to invigorate the startup ecosystem, beginning with the 'Young People Startup 1000 Project', which selects and cultivates 1,000 prospective young entrepreneurs each year. The city has continually expanded startup bases for startup incubation, commercialization, and networking to foster the ecosystem by district and industry by operating startup support centers such as Mapo Seoul Startup Hub, Hongneung Bio Hub, and Yangjae AI Hub. From 2012 to December 2021, the city of Seoul has fostered about 13,000 companies. Through these companies, the city of Seoul has achieved 5 trillion won in sales, attracted investments of 854.3 billion won, and created over 17000 jobs.

Number of startups supported by Seoul

14,195companies

Sales figures for the startups supported by Seoul

5,348hundred million

Number of people employed by the startups supported by Seoul

21,340people

December 2012~2021

Number of incubator companies (Unit: companies)

#3D9EF3, #76CAFF

Sales figures (Unit: million won)

#FF7FA6, #FFC2E5

Attracted investment amount (Unit: million won)

#8C00F9, #CEABFF

Intellectual property rights (Unit: counts)

#41D3B5, #59F2D2

Number of employees (Unit: people)

#F49200, #FFD607

This data is the data provided by the Seoul Startup Policy Division as of March 2023, and is the result of a complete survey of 25 startup incubators in Seoul. Data for some items may have been omitted, so it may differ from the actual situation.

Status of Startup Partners

Running together with the members of the startup ecosystem

The city of Seoul has been putting in a lot of effort to enhance the activities of the startup ecosystem in order to create 'synergy' through collaboration with private expert organizations in the public domain. To strengthen the capabilities of the startup teams based in Seoul, the city is conducting a startup fostering program together with large companies, institutional investors, and private expert organizations including Seoul Business Agency (SBA). Together with the private sector, the city operates 40 startup support facilities and supports over 1,810 startup support programs to promote the scale-up of startups. Both the public and private sectors will work together to transform Seoul into a city that is great for running and starting up businesses and a city where people can find good jobs.

2017 ~ 2023.5 Number of startup programs

2,112pcs

As of May 2023 Number of city startup support facilities

30pcs

As of May 2022 Number of partner organizations

184pcs

City Startup Support Facility Operation Status
As of the end of December 2022
(Annual update)

Facility name Number of fostered companies Corporate sales(million won) Number of companies to attract investment Investment attraction (million won) Number of intellectual property cases (cases) No. of employees (persons) New hires
Seoul Startup Hub Gongdeok 102 116,353 46 67,515 157 766
Seoul Startup Hub Seongsu 21 48,679 13 38,450 115 232
Seoul Startup Hub Changdong 22 18,202 9 25,605 80 227
Seoul Startup Growth Center 20 9,064 11 12,154 86 63
Seoul Startup Didimteo 46 3,980 26 2,713 28 212
Youth Entrepreneurship Dream 20 3,398 1 50 37 26
Seoul Startup Center Gwanak 11 5,961 18 1,891 33 64
Seoul Startup Hub M+ 75 53,185 15 41,927 134 373
Seoul Global Startup Talents Hub 8 1,293 2 350 5 10
G Valley Startup Cube 66 2,854 5 1,719 49 25
Seoul Fintech Lab 97 137,554 61 88,076 235 793
Seoul Game Content Center 12 3,447 3 1,067 3 22
AI Yangjae Hub 95 68,497 63 111,176 726 621
Seoul Bio Hub 130 17,314 31 54,710 363 316
Seoul Fashion Hub 50 11,786 1 1,000 23 33
Seoul Food Tech Startup Center 61 25,000 19 10,000 150 208
Social Venture Hub 15 12,985 12 5,159 42 177
Seoul Tourism Plaza 15 3,251 4 4,203 9 68
Seoul Design Incubating Center 30 9,824 16 4,902 70 72
Seoul Woman Craft Center, the Arium 49 1,392 27 287 98 14

Number of partner organizations

Incubator growth (24)
Investment area (160)
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This data is the data provided by the Seoul Startup Policy Division as of May 23, and it is the result of a complete survey of 29 startup incubators in Seoul. Data for some items may have been omitted, so it may differ from the actual situation.