Korean Startups at Slush to Watch for

Slush is one of the most popular global startups events for Korean startups, accelerators, and organizations. Slush brings in over 2,000 investors looking to invest in the next big startup. In addition, there are hundreds of corporations looking to make deals with innovative startups. Many Korean startups at Slush have been able to make meaningful partnerships, investments, and leads to potential customers. This is because Slush offers a matchmaking program that matches startups with potential investors. Therefore Korean startups going to Slush can be guaranteed meetings with global investors. 

Slush – The Top European Tech Startup Event

Slush takes place in Helsinki, Finland, and is one of the top European tech startup events. While Slush Helsinki is the main event, Slush has taken place all around the world through Slush Singapore, Slush Tokyo, and Slush Shanghai. What separates Slush from other startup events is its fresh, fun, futuristic atmosphere which feels more like a party than a startup event. The stages look more like a rock concert than a pitch stage. There are lights, lasers, and energetic music that make the whole atmosphere feel like a festival. 

Slush has over 2,000 volunteers for the two-day event. They are very helpful in getting you the information that you need as well as helping you set up and letting you know the layout of the event. Slush brings in over 25,000 attendees and 4,000 startups. 

Korean Startups at Slush Need to Apply for Slush 100

Korean startups looking to go to Slush should all be applying for Slush 100. It is one of the biggest pitching competitions and any startup can apply. The application deadline is always September 30th. So those planning for Slush 2023 should mark that date on their calendar. They also have special launch demos, so Korean startups looking to launch their product live at Slush can do so by applying by Oct. 5th. 

Why Korean Startups Should Go to Slush

Slush is not only for Korean startups that are looking to break into the European market. Slush is truly a global startup event. It is an event that brings entrepreneurs, investors, and corporates to one location. At Slush, you feel like you are part of a community that is looking to learn, collaborate, and offer advice/encouragement. Slush also gathers global media such as Bloomberg, BBC, Business Insider, and more. This is vital for Korean startups that are not able to get covered by global media. By going to Slush you will have access to hundreds of global media at once.

Speakers typically represent successful startup entrepreneurs who offer feedback, strategies, and advice on some of the risks you might face. There are networking and meeting spots that are clearly marked and available at Slush. 

Below are some tips for Korean startups looking to go to Slush this year.

• Take the train from the airport to the city center. It is the fastest and most affordable way to the city.
• Do not take taxis, instead of download the HSL (Helsinki public transport) app which will allow you to buy tickets to all forms of public transportation.
• Slush takes place during the winter so the weather in Helsinki is very cold and might even be snowing. So dress accordingly.
• Make sure you show up to meetings 5-10 minutes early. Finns will consider it rude if you are late.
• Plan your meetings before the event. Once the Slush attendee list comes out, email them or reach out to them via LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Participate in events that take place after the event has ended.

Korea National Pavilion

In past years, Slush offered a space called the Korea National Pavilion which showcased Korean startups with new technologies and innovative platforms. The organizers of the pavilion are the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) of Korea. Both organizations support Korean startups to scale up and find new marketplaces. MSIT and NIPA currently operate an acceleration program for the nurturing of software startups by encouraging them to expand the global market.

Previous Korean Startups at Slush include:

MOIN

MOIN is a cross-border blockchain-based remittance company that provides transactions to 30 countries from Korea. They work with other global money transfer companies to send money to Korea. They were created in 2016 and since then have obtained a small-sum overseas remittance license from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Therefore, foreign firms can transfer money into Korea, using MOIN’s services. The startup partnered with Mirae Asset Daewoo to allow their customers to use MOIN’s overseas remittance service through the firm’s mobile app.

Lablup

Lablup develops software products that support research, development, sharing, collaboration, deployment, and public services. They are the creators of Backend.AI, a distributed model training/data analysis engine. Backend.AI focuses on a virtual machine learning/HPC cluster management framework with scheduling and orchestration with various computing resources. Backend.AI started TPU support on Google Cloud, enhancing super-computer scale orchestration with Nvidia DGX series, handling, and load balancing various public cloud resources with Amazon Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform as the one Backend.AI cloud in 2018. Lablup is now enhancing and starting the open beta of cloud.backend.ai from API service to a fully-featured user experience. Also, Lablup is preparing the use.backend.AI service, a human-friendly machine-learning service engine as a centralized gateway to streamed cloud machine-learning applications.

Yalla factory

Yallo Factory is a music tech startup, generating chords for music instruments backed with differentiated music analyzing and transforming technology. They have over 20 years of experience in development and are a group of music-loving developers and musicians. They also service the music analyzer app MyChord. MyChord offers analysis results that include various chord types including 7^th chords, slash chords, m6, and dim7. It provides tablatures not only for guitars but also for ukulele, banjo, and mandolin. In addition, the app can analyze any music including the songs saved on the mobile as an mp3 or m4a file and the songs found on YouTube.

Apposter

Apposter is the creator of a watch face DIY platform called MR TIME. Through MR TIME you can create various dial designs for smartwatches online. Users can make, share and do business with their own dial design. It is a great way to match your watch strap with your watch face. They have over 1.7 million watch face designers on MR TIME.

MARVRUS

MARVRUS is the developer of a VR Teleport English tool for learning English. Students can wear VR headsets attached to smartphones to experience VR experiences. In addition, students can interact with native English speakers from all around the world through the VR tool. The VR tool offers users personalized feedback using voice processing technology. Their aim is to create great user experiences with immersive content and emotion A.I.