Korean start-ups pitch to Singapore VCs

Home > National > K-campus

print dictionary print

Korean start-ups pitch to Singapore VCs

Edwin Low, center, director of Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority, poses with start-ups that participated in the D.Camp's D.Day, on Thursday. [D.CAMP]

Edwin Low, center, director of Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority, poses with start-ups that participated in the D.Camp's D.Day, on Thursday. [D.CAMP]

 
SINGAPORE – Five Korean start-ups enthusiastically made their business pitches to venture capital companies in Singapore, with those winning demo day awards getting funding from Korean and Singaporean organizations.
 
D.Camp, a Korean non-profit start-up support organization funded by 19 banks, hosted D.Day, its first demo day abroad in Singapore, on Thursday.
 
There were 80 start-ups that applied, with five start-ups – Kai Health, Wemeet, Huraypositive, Omnis Labs and GradeHealthChain – selected by D.Camp to participate in the event. It was hosted outside of Korea for the first time, and all start-ups were planning to enter the Singaporean market or interested in doing so.
 
The Best Dream Award, a 10-million-won ($7,600) prize, was given to Wemeet.
 
The start-up makes alternative meat from mushrooms, compared to many other companies using soy. Reaching out to the Singaporean market, which has a mix of cultures, it developed flavors such as guo bao rou (sweet and sour pork) and marsala.
 
Kai Health, which provides an embryo image evaluation tool to embryologists, received the Best New Entrance Award by Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Using embryo data provided by 10 Korean clinics, the start-up's tool, also known as Eve, is able to select a patient's embryo with the highest chance of pregnancy.
 
Local venture capitals ask questions to start-ups after listening to their business pitches. [D.CAMP]

Local venture capitals ask questions to start-ups after listening to their business pitches. [D.CAMP]

 
It was also given a cash prize of 10 million won and will be prioritized when applying for IMDA's acceleration program, which provides residency support and consultation. D.Camp and IMDA has been working together since October last year, signing a memorandum of intent to help start-ups in one country enter the other.
 
"Singapore is very important to us because it's a hub, and if you want to expand in Asia, you need to go to Singapore," said Lee Hye-jun, CEO of Kai Health. "And because there is a mix of public and private services, it's an ideal place to run our business."
 
"Singapore is also a hub for tourism, and it's easy to reach out to diverse people of different ethnicities, which is essential for AI development."
 
The start-up hopes to supply its image evaluation tool to fertility centers in Singapore, and is currently in discussions with some clinics.
 
Another that hopes to specifically tap into the Singaporean market is Omnis Labs.
 
Using an image analysis tool, the start-up can analyze high-resolution images, such as aerial images, security footage and map data, processing up to 15 gigabytes of images in a second.
 
It provided its tool to the Seoul metropolitan city in the past, using it to analyze aerial images to find buildings with illegal structures, such as terraces bigger than the original permit.
 
The start-up hopes to successfully tap into Singapore, targetingthe need for governments and companies to analyze their land and use results to efficiently manage the smaller area they have.
 
"Land is precious in Singapore, which means people have to utilize and protect the land the best as they can," said Moon Gwi-hwan, CEO of Omnis Labs. "And we can definitely help people who need to do so."
 
For other companies that have already established a strong presence in Singapore, the country being a multicultural society has helped.
 
Pinkfong, best known for its catchy song, Baby Shark, opened its fifth overseas office in Singapore last year. It has others in Los Angeles, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Pinkfong Adventure World, its first indoor playground, was opened in Singapore in last October.
 
 
 

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)