K-Ground Ventures Selects 10 Startups in the Bio and Medical Fields
K-Ground Ventures (CEO Cho Nam-hoon) announced on the 23rd that it has selected 10 startups in the bio and medical fields, in collaboration with the Seoul Biohub (Director Kim Hyun-woo), to support their investment attraction and Scale-Up Tips selection. The selected startups will enter into agreements for management diagnostics, investment attraction, and IP consulting to actively support the creation of results for investment attraction and Scale-Up Tips selection.
The “Scale-Up Tips Investment-Linked Track” program is designed for bio and medical-related startups that have been established for less than 10 years and show potential for business performance and growth. The program selected 10 companies that wish to relocate their headquarters, branches, or research centers to Seoul during the consulting period in 2024, and that aim to attract investments of over 1 billion won and connect with Scale-Up Tips.
The selected companies will work with Scale-Up Tips operators and related experts to identify key investment and R&D points from a VC perspective. They will receive consulting on IP management diagnostics, management control systems, and internal control system improvements, supplemented through training. By August, they will participate in an investment-linked specialized program that provides IR and investment opportunities to strategic investors and Scale-Up Tips operators.
The signing ceremony was attended by numerous startups in the bio, medical, and healthcare sectors that are currently facing significant challenges in attracting investments and IPOs. The 10 selected companies—MEDI-IoT, BrainU (anesthesia depth measurement device), OzOnBio (osmotic drug delivery), Umteul (biomembrane), Elpis Therapeutics (vascular regeneration stem cell therapy using composite stem cell technology), InHandPlus (InHand Watch), Team Elysium (musculoskeletal diagnosis and management solution), QGenetics (osteoporosis treatment), Clavis Therapeutics (cell therapy and new drugs), and Healing Sound (EarNap and AutoRin RX)—attended the agreement ceremony. They were joined by Kim Hyun-woo, Director of the Seoul Bio Hub, as well as Seo Joo-won, President of the Scale-Up Tips Association, and other representatives from K-Ground Ventures, DSC Investment, Technology and Value, and IPS Patent Law Firm.
Cho Nam-hoon, CEO of K-Ground Ventures, which is overseeing the program, stated, “The bio and medical fields are particularly facing difficulties in attracting investments, selecting government support projects, licensing out IP, and in all areas including IPOs and M&A as we enter 2024.”
He emphasized, “It is important to discover opportunities through management diagnostic consulting in the face of global crises and to secure IP as an asset that can be recognized in the global market at the time of future M&A, IPO, and licensing out, thereby developing a new market fit strategy.” He expressed his ambition to create a new model for achieving results in public-private partnership programs by leveraging the experiences and specialties of the first Scale-Up Tips operators, making this the first Scale-Up Tips investment-linked track program that can simultaneously support startups in overcoming crises and securing competitiveness.
Meanwhile, the Scale-Up Tips program is a nurturing program by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups that supports startups in receiving over 1 billion won in investment from private VCs, with a matching investment of over 1 billion won (up to 2 billion won, and 3 billion won for small and medium-sized enterprises) and support for R&D projects worth 1.2 billion won. In 2023, over 200 startups were selected, and the program is expected to expand its support in 2024.
The following are the 10 selected bio, medical, and healthcare startups:
- MEDI-IoT
- BrainU (anesthesia depth measurement device)
- OzOnBio (osmotic drug delivery)
- Umteul (biomembrane)
- Elpis Therapeutics (vascular regeneration stem cell therapy using composite stem cell technology)
- InHandPlus (InHand Watch)
- Team Elysium (musculoskeletal diagnosis and management solution)
- QGenetics (osteoporosis treatment)
- Clavis Therapeutics (cell therapy and new drugs)
- Healing Sound (EarNap and AutoRin RX)