[This Month's TIPS] This Month's Spotlight: Companies, Brands, Innovative Tech & Services

Recently, a number of promising startups were selected for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) program, officially recognizing their growth based on innovative technology. TIPS is a flagship program that supports tech startups through cooperation between the government and private investors, providing selected companies with technology validation, R&D funding, and commercialization support. Arcpoint has been selected for Global TIPS and will embark on 'developing a specialized on-chain data analysis engine based on LLM.' Amidst the increasing importance of on-chain data due to the proliferation of Web3 financial services, the company plans to combine blockchain domain knowledge with AI technology to advance on-chain data monitoring, automatic insight generation, and natural language-based search and analysis functions. This is expected to strengthen the global competitiveness of blockchain-specific AI services and accelerate the real-world adoption of Web3 technology. Jeju Salt and SC Creative, companies invested in by the Jeju Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, were simultaneously selected for the TIPS R&D General Track. Jeju Salt is gaining attention in the bio, health functional food, and beauty industries with its technology for manufacturing premium salt and high-purity marine minerals based on Jeju lava seawater, aiming for commercialization of marine mineral material production technology and entry into the global market. SC Creative is developing ViTA™, a barrier-free AI hologram kiosk that combines sign language systems, XR, and object detection technology, planning to improve accessibility for the digitally vulnerable and target domestic and international markets with solutions specialized for the public and medical sectors. Green bio startup Savethefarms is advancing its biochar technology based on a waste resource circulation system to produce soil-improving biochar and eco-friendly fertilizers/feed from agricultural by-products, contributing to carbon reduction and the creation of a sustainable agricultural ecosystem. Tunib has been selected for Scale-up TIPS and is leading the development of Korean-specific large language models and AI ethical guardrail solutions. In particular, through its 'Korean-specific multimodal guardrail system for ensuring the safety of AI agents,' it is securing technology to detect and block harmful speech, personal information exposure, etc., in environments encompassing not only text but also voice, images, and video. This puts the company at the forefront of building a safe AI utilization ecosystem and plans to expand into non-English speaking global markets. Batonus is developing an AI-based universal sign language recognition model to break down communication barriers between deaf and hearing individuals and enhance technological completeness to lead the global assistive device market for people with disabilities. Global trade AI startup Thirdworks plans to enhance the technology of its trade agent service 'Follow up' to resolve difficulties faced by small and medium-sized export/import companies in responding to trade regulations and customs clearance requirements. It aims to build an AI-based trade platform that reduces information search time and costs, as well as post-origin verification risks. Morgan, operator of the big data-based O2O reverse direct purchase platform 'Twoday,' is supporting the overseas expansion of small and medium-sized businesses and aiming to leap forward as a global reverse direct purchase specialized platform through the development of AI and big data-based customized recommendations and inventory automation for K-brand global reverse direct purchases. VLab Corporation has been selected for the TIPS Global Track and will advance its AI-based rehabilitation Pilates platform. Through the development of its 'Hyper-personalized Pilates Smart Coaching AI Solution,' it plans to present customized exercise solutions to the global market and lead the globalization of 'K-Pilates.' Relaunder recirculates idle assets (furniture, fixtures, etc.) from short-term operational spaces through its circular platform 'Napal.' Through its TIPS selection, it plans to develop AI-based technology to quantify the residual value and ESG effects of corporate idle assets, creating an industry standard where resource circulation operates naturally. These startups, recognized for their innovative technology and growth potential, are expected to leverage the support of the TIPS program to fully embark on their leap from the domestic market to the global stage in their respective fields.