The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) on Thursday hosted the Demo Day of the 2025 K-Startup Grand Challenge at COEX in southern Seoul, bringing together foreign founders, investors and policy makers for the final stage of Korea’s flagship competition for international startups.
 
Now in its tenth year, the K-Startup Grand Challenge has become the country’s largest program dedicated to attracting overseas entrepreneurs and helping them establish long-term operations in Korea. Launched in 2016, the initiative forms a key part of the government’s efforts to internationalize Korea’s startup ecosystem and strengthen its links with global innovation networks.
 
Interest in the program reached a new high this year. A total of 2,626 teams from 97 countries applied to take part – up sharply from 1,705 applications in 2024 – marking the highest level of participation since the competition began.
 
Following several months of online screening and evaluation from April, 40 teams were selected and provided with tailored support to enter the Korean market, including assistance with visas, business registration and early-stage settlement.
 
The Demo Day marked the final round of the competition. Eight finalist teams presented their technologies and business strategies on stage, with rankings determined through live evaluation by a panel of judges that included domestic and international venture capital investors.
 
The top prize was awarded to Konnect, a startup from India, which received KRW 100 million in prize money. Konnect is developing a data-driven authentication and payment platform designed to address the identity verification and payment challenges commonly faced by foreign residents in Korea.
 
A spokesperson for the company said Konnect plans to evolve the service into an integrated lifestyle platform that can be used seamlessly by tourists and foreign residents alike. The long-term goal is to expand the system in stages to cover authentication, payments, settlement and a range of everyday convenience services within a single platform.
 
Second place went to MaimHaim, a U.S.-based startup that received KRW 70 million. The company offers a next-generation unmanned operations solution that enables automated check-in and check-out and contactless payments. Its technology combines IMU sensor fusion nodes, a zero-UI interface and encrypted token-based systems.
 
MaimHaim said it aims to scale the solution into an integrated Management-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform applicable across multiple industries, positioning it as a foundation for Korea’s growing unmanned and automated service sectors.
 
The third prize, worth KRW 50 million, was awarded to Pierrot Company from Canada. The startup is building a global IT asset circulation platform that collects idle IT devices worldwide and reallocates them to markets where demand is strongest, using data-driven analysis.
 
According to the company, Korea will serve as the base for developing a global pricing index for used IT equipment, alongside an automated cross-border trading infrastructure. The platform is designed to cover the entire value chain, from pricing and inspection to logistics, customs clearance and payments.
 
Beyond the awards, the Demo Day also marked the start of the next phase for participating teams. The top 20 startups, including all prize winners, will receive an additional three months of follow-up support, including opportunities for open-innovation projects with large and mid-sized Korean companies, investor pitching sessions and access to office space. The support is intended to help foreign founders not only enter the Korean market, but also grow and scale their businesses over the long term.

 

For more news and updates on Korea’s SME and startup policies, follow the Ministry’s official LinkedIn page: Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Republic of Korea, 대한민국 중소벤처기업부