AP Green Wins KAIST-SNU Pitching for Clean Hydrogen Technology

## The Clash of Social Value and Business Innovation: KAIST vs. Seoul National University Startup Super Match, Drawing the Future On the 26th, a special event offering a glimpse into the future of social value creation in South Korea unfolded at COEX, Gangnam, Seoul. The 'KAIST vs. Seoul National University Startup Super Match,' jointly organized by global accelerator SparkLabs and social enterprise Haengboknarae, was the main highlight. Planned as a special program for the '2025 Korea Social Value Festa,' this event saw KAIST ImpactMBA and Seoul National University Startup Support Center participate as co-organizers, bringing together the innovative capabilities of these two prestigious universities. This Super Match was conducted amidst the fervent atmosphere of an inter-university competition, going beyond simple IR pitching. Four startups from KAIST ImpactMBA and four startups participating in Seoul National University's 'SNU Big Scale-up' program presented their respective visions. Across a pitching stage comprising a total of 4 rounds, participating companies clearly articulated their business visions, focusing not only on deep insights into the social problems they aim to solve but also on the distinctiveness of their solutions, market expansion potential, and tangible social impact, thereby capturing the attention of the judging panel. The judging panel included CEO Choi Kyung-hee of SoPoong Ventures (formerly SoPoong Connect), a leader in domestic social venture investment, and Noh Tae-jun, Acting Partner at Primer, an expert in discovering early-stage startups, who offered sharp questions alongside warm advice. After an intense competition, the Grand Prize honor went to 'APGreen,' which proposed a sustainable energy future through its local clean hydrogen production system. The Excellence Award was presented to 'Periodioneer,' which developed treatment technology for the intractable disease aggressive periodontitis, thus recognizing the potential of its innovative bio-technology. Notably, the Best Pitch Award, selected by the votes of the on-site audience, was claimed by 'Domino Effect,' which operates a training platform for foreign caregivers, contributing to the qualitative improvement of care services and social integration, thereby garnering public empathy and support. Beyond the brilliant achievements of individual companies, in the university-level evaluation, Seoul National University claimed the overall championship, adding more meaning to the competition. Furthermore, at the end of the event, 'Booon,' a winning company from a Japanese social venture competition, participated as a special guest, introducing a unique yet sustainable business model that cycles food waste into insect protein, providing an opportunity to explore the possibilities of social ventures from an international perspective. Noh Tae-jun, Acting Partner who participated as a judge, reflected on the significance of the event, stating, "It was impressive that the participating companies presented models that simultaneously possessed both social problem-solving capabilities and business competitiveness." He added, "Moving beyond a past focus solely on social value, this competition clearly demonstrated a positive shift towards social ventures that actively consider economic value and global scalability, which I find very promising." He concluded by expressing his anticipation for the evolving aspects of social innovation companies. This Super Match was a meaningful occasion that went beyond mere competition, presenting the direction our society should take and the boundless possibilities of social ventures.