Techstars, a startup accelerator, launched Techstars Korea Accelerator in 2020. The accelerator has been looking to accelerate its global expansion efforts, and thanks to its $42 million investment lead by SVB Financial Group, they have broken into South Korea. Techstars has over 50 accelerator programs in 35 cities in 16 countries, with South Korea being one of them. Moreover, they partnered with Hillstone Partners (a startup consulting firm) to create Techstars Korea Accelerator. It makes sense for Techstars to launch a startup accelerator in Korea because Korea has become one of the top startup hubs in Asia. The program focuses on supporting the Korean startup ecosystem. The 13-week accelerator program starts towards the end of August.
The US-based startup Datance provides enterprises with the world’s first fully managed, code-free, data analyst-friendly data management and analytics solution. Their platform covers the entire lifecycle of data from acquisition to AI-powered analytics in a user-friendly, governance-enabled framework. Therefore, this unified framework allows for end-to-end automation, effortless troubleshooting, and low to no downtime maintenance. They constantly improve readability by gathering user feedback and exploring innovative UX design techniques. Therefore those interested in a demo, get in touch with Datance to get lifetime discounts on your licenses. Their team will help you define best-fit packages and solutions for your business needs.
US-based AR/VR startup Foundry Six is an augmented reality studio that makes augmented reality experiences for AR/VR marketing and custom enterprise applications. Some of their projects include Fitness ONE, which is a personal training app for AR glasses. Some of the workouts include yoga, aerobics, and boxing. It has options for both real-time and recorded instructions and tutorials. Another project Foundry Six is working on is SuperWorld, a social AR platform built with Blockchain technology. It allows users and brands to tag anything anywhere in AR using photos, videos, text, and 3D objects so they can share with their friends, followers, and fans.
Gather is a one-stop shop for all types of online gatherings. Customers can create an online room by making them public or private. They can then invite their friends by sharing the link. There will be many activities such as Jackbox, Skribbl, Codenames, and more. In addition, Gather is constantly looking for cool activities to add to its platform. Those interested in this new social platform can join their waitlist and be the first to test the app when it becomes available.
Korean AI startup Y-hat AI transfers AI insights into products for immediate business impact. Therefore, companies will be able to gain actionable insights through Y-hat AI’s in-store visitor behavior data collection and distribution platform. It will collect all offline visitor behaviors using computer vision for retailers and brands that need real insights about their customers.
The accelerator program is a 3-month mentorship-driven accelerator program. There was a virtual Demo Day where the startups presented their progress. Techstars Korea selected startups that focused on digital and tech innovations across many verticals. In addition, the program was done both virtually and offline at Pangyo Techno Valley, which is a tech and innovation hub located in Pangyo (30 minutes South of Seoul).
“Korea’s booming startup sector and Pangyo’s thriving tech ecosystem are the perfect ingredients for this accelerator program. This is a very exciting move for Techstars, considering Korea’s access to other major Asian markets, the country’s massive internal market, and the public and private sector’s interest in mobilizing the tech industry,” said Will Robinson, Vice President Asia Pacific Sales at Techstars.
“Given Techstar’s expertise running accelerator programs across the world, as well as its deep network, we know this partnership will drive a significant degree of long-term impact, growth, and success for our startup community in Pangyo. This partnership will drive the continued development of our startup ecosystem and contribute meaningfully to our country’s focus on and dedication to South Korea’s status as a major startup, tech, and innovation leader,” said Rayol Hwang, CEO at Hillstone Partners.
The mentorship-driven accelerator program has some of the top mentors in Korea. Techstars mentors are individuals with deep industry, investment, or entrepreneurship experience. Therefore, make sure to check in often as they grow their mentor network. Some of them include the following:
“With my experience at Google, McKinsey, and Yanolja, I like to show startups how to monetize their customers or service traffic with the right direction and timing,” said Jong Yoon Kim.
“Learn, unlearn, and relearn: this is why I have been mentoring startups for the past 20 years.”
“I like mentoring early-stage founders who can make data-driven decisions and understand the importance of scalability.”
James Jung is the founder of beSUCCESS, which offers multiple media platforms to introduce the startup ecosystem in Asia. He is also an ambassador for MITA (Malta Information Technology Agency) Innovation HUB, where he connects the startup communities in Korea with acceleration, funding, and regulatory opportunities provided by the government of Malta. In addition, he is also the Seoul Chapter Leader for Government Blockchain Association and an anchor sponsor for Blockchain for Impact in New York.
Nathan Millard is the founder and CEO of G3 Partners. He helps Korean startups with cross-border business consulting. He has lived in Asia for over 15 years and started working with startups in 2012. In 2015, he founded G3 partners out of a co-working space in Seoul. Furthermore, G3 Partners is now one of the fastest-growing marketing and PR agency in Korea.
Just to name a few…
Techstars started as a single accelerator program for early-stage startups back in 2006. Now they are all around the world and have hundreds of employees and nearly 2,000 portfolio companies. Therefore, as they enter Korea, they are looking to bring a culture of entrepreneurship and their massive network to help entrepreneurs in Korea succeed. The massive network of Techstars separates Techstars from other accelerator programs in Korea. They have the connections to help Korean startups expand into the global market. In addition, they help startups connect with large corporations and vice versa. Techstars does a great job of leveraging startups and corporations together to improve both.
It is only a matter of time before Techstars partners with a corporate company in Korea to create a corporate-backed accelerator. They have done this with global corporations like Comcast, Barclays, MetLife, and more. Each corporate accelerator has its own vertical, and they help startups within that vertical succeed. Therefore it will be interesting to see which corporation in Korea, Techstars partners up with. For now, their focus will be on the first batch for the Techstars Korea Accelerator.
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