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No. of Samsung Electronics-incubated startups nears 1,000

Published: 20 Nov. 2025, 13:33 Updated: 20 Nov. 2025, 17:52

This photo taken on Nov. 20, shows the venue of Samsung Electronics Co.'s C-Lab Startup Demoday held in southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics has helped nearly 1,000 startups through its venture program, with the latest batch of 30 firms under the program attracting a combined 34.5 billion won ($23.4 million) in investments, the company said Thursday.

The monumental figure was unveiled in the company's C-Lab Startup Demoday event held in Seoul. The Korean tech giant has so far nurtured 423 startups within the company and 536 outside, with the total expected to surpass 1,000 next year, the company said in a release.

Among the companies that joined Thursday's event was Tesollo, which develops robotic hands that can be applied in manufacturing lines or other areas requiring precise operation.

"Samsung Electronics offered opportunities to test our robotic hands in different settings, including manufacturing lines," Ryu Woo-seok, chief technology officer at Tesollo, said during the event.

"The consulting support from the C-Lab program helped us to set our business direction, and cooperation with Samsung Electronics provided an opportunity to enter the global market," Kim Ki-hyun, chief executive officer of Geogrid, which offers an eco-friendly water purification solution, said.

Samsung launched the C-Lab program in 2012 to encourage employees with innovative ideas to develop in-house startups. The company expanded the program to outside startups in 2018.

A robot hand developed by Tesollo, a company under ties with Samsung Electronics Co. via the C-Lab program, is displayed at an exhibition held in southern Seoul on Nov. 20. [YONHAP]

Samsung Electronics said it is currently operating the C-Lab Family program, under which businesses that have completed Samsung's support program may continue to receive investment and business cooperation opportunities.

"The C-Lab program has positioned itself as an open cooperative platform pursuing shared growth with conglomerates and startups," Samsung Electronics President Park Seung-hee said.

"[Samsung] will continue to proactively support the growth of startups with business ties and investment, and take its responsibility and role as a companion venturing into the future," Park said.

Yonhap