Major South Korean companies invest in country’s startups

Global Business

Major South Korean companies invest in country's startups

In the Republic of Korea, the country’s biggest companies, accounting for a substantial chunk of the country’s economy, have been mired in crises recently, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

Some conglomerates are increasingly investing in startups for sustainable growth. And now, they want to help startups reach markets outside of Korea.

CCTV’s U-Jean Jung reports finds out more from an accelerator run by one of those conglomerates.

This app turns your hummed tunes into professional sounding music. Cool Jamm’s “Humm On” was one of the six project ideas born and nurtured in Samsung’s experimental Creative-Lab and exited as a start-up this year.

Since October, they’ve become one of the sixteen startups enrolled in a corporate accelerator program of another big name conglomerate in the country.

The startups are working out of an office provided by Lotte Group’s own accelerator. Large conglomerates in South Korea are pouring more money into the startup ecosystem, to help the startups of course, but also to find new business investment opportunities fit for their company.

The South Korean company’s brand value and size has enabled them to partner with venture capital platforms like Nest to help these startups go global. Nest has brought in cross border venture capital companies to meet the locals.

Lotte invested $3.4 million in a shopping curation service startup that exited their six-month accelerator program this year, and is using its service on Lotte’s online shopping platform to attract more visitors.

It’s a win-win case that could be repeated by more startups and conglomerates in the country.