Gyeongbuk Innovation Center to Foster 10 Promising Materials, AI, Bio Companies

Gyeongsangbuk-do is accelerating the fostering of future unicorn companies, injecting vitality into the local innovation ecosystem. The Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation recently selected 10 high-potential startups through the '2025 Gyeongsangbuk-do Pre-Unicorn Growth Support Program' and held an official designation certificate awarding ceremony. This program is a key initiative of Gyeongsangbuk-do's 'GB-Unicorn Company Nurturing Project,' aimed at maximizing the corporate value of local startups and strengthening their global competitiveness. Notably, by establishing a mentoring and cooperation system linked with leading domestic conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and POSCO, it provides a practical foundation for growth beyond simple financial support. The 10 companies selected this time were not only directly discovered by the center but also carefully chosen through recommendations from POSCO Holdings and Samsung Electronics, covering various innovative fields including materials, components, equipment, AI, platform, and bio. Key selected companies include strong small and medium-sized enterprises in materials, components, and equipment such as **BS One Co., Ltd.** in the field of calcination containers for secondary battery cathode materials, **Cobra Co., Ltd.** for drone detection radar, **Haivo Co., Ltd.** for 3D LiDAR product technology, **Repla Co., Ltd.** for regenerated plastic purity enhancement equipment, and **Mediconnect Co., Ltd.** for drug delivery devices for retinal diseases. In the AI field, **Amberroad Co., Ltd.** for manufacturing process optimization AI platform and **Impactive AI Co., Ltd.** for demand prediction machine learning models were selected. In the platform field, **Agricultural Corporation Signal Care Co., Ltd.**, which possesses an eco-friendly high-protein functional ingredient manufacturing platform, made the list. In the bio field, technology companies poised to lead future industries garnered attention, including **Spebio Co., Ltd.** for 3D tissue culture technology and **TissenBioFarm Co., Ltd.** for cell-cultured meat technology. The selected companies will receive customized growth programs, including Scale-Up IR opportunities, in-depth consulting from experts at large corporations, and linkage with R&D institutions. Additionally, they will secure priority recommendation rights for Gyeongsangbuk-do's venture enterprise fostering fund loans (up to 300 million KRW, 1% interest rate) and up to 25 million KRW in commercialization funds, thus laying a financial foundation for stable growth. Yoo Ju-hyun, CEO of Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, emphasized, "Based on the know-how gained from supporting a total of 29 companies over the past three years, we will spare no effort in providing full support to help the newly selected startups leap beyond Korea to become unicorn companies active on the global stage." The Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation expects these companies to become new growth engines for the regional economy and plans to provide continuous support and attention.