Sopoong Ventures to Manage TIPS Climate Tech Specialization

## SoPoong Ventures Selected as a TIPS Specialized Operating Company to Lead Climate Tech Innovation! SoPoong Ventures, a specialized investment firm in the climate tech sector, has been proudly selected as a TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startup) climate tech specialized operating company by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, emerging as a key player set to inject new vitality into the domestic climate tech ecosystem. Over the next two years, SoPoong Ventures plans to actively discover promising early-stage climate tech startups and provide strong support for their growth. TIPS is a unique public-private cooperation program for fostering innovative startups, where the government provides linked support for R&D and commercialization funds based on proactive investments from private investors. This year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is accelerating the fostering of future promising companies by selecting investors with expertise in specific sectors, including climate tech, as specialized operating companies. For the past decade, SoPoong Ventures has focused its investments on startups dedicated to solving the climate crisis, including those in carbon neutrality, resource circulation, sustainable agri-food, and eco-friendly energy. Through these efforts, it has discovered and nurtured over 60 climate tech startups. Furthermore, more than half of the startups selected for TIPS through SoPoong Ventures belong to the climate tech sector, demonstrating its deep understanding and expertise in this field. Through this selection as a specialized operating company, SoPoong Ventures plans to provide diverse support to the selected climate tech startups, including not only TIPS funds but also customized growth roadmap design, expert mentoring in various fields, and business strategy consulting based on the industrial value chain. In particular, focusing on the five major climate tech sectors defined by the government (Clean, Carbon, Eco, Food, Geotech), it will discover startups across the entire industrial ecosystem and actively support them to boldly expand into the global market. Recently, the government and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups have announced strong policies such as the 'Establishment of an Energy Highway and Fostering of the Climate Tech Industry' and 'Climate Tech Startup Level-Up Strategy' to address the national challenges of carbon neutrality and renewable energy transition. SoPoong Ventures' selection as a TIPS climate tech specialized operating company is analyzed as a result reflecting the government's firm policy direction. Han Sang-yeop, CEO of SoPoong Ventures, emphasized, "Climate tech startups face practical difficulties such as long technology development cycles and significant financial burdens, making R&D linkage through TIPS essential." He further expressed a strong aspiration and vision, stating, "Based on SoPoong Ventures' accumulated expertise, we will intensively nurture climate tech venture startups to accelerate the achievement of carbon neutrality goals and, furthermore, make every effort to enable the birth of Korea's first global climate tech unicorn."