TIMWORK lifts trophy at March D.Camp startup pitch competition

TIMWORK Inc., a South Korean digital construction plan management software developer, won first prize at D.Camp’s March startup pitch competition held last week in cooperation with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korea Invention Promotion Association (KIPA).  

Vying for the D.Day X IP Business trophy on March 30 were five finalists, including TIMWORK and runner-up eflow Co., a developer of engines for last-mile e-mobility solutions like e-bikes and e-scooters, according to D.Camp on Friday.

D.Camp, the Korean startup accelerator backed by the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, has collaborated with the KIPO and the KIPA for the last five years to encourage startups to register patents for their original technologies to promote the importance of intellectual property.

The March startup demo day was part of such efforts.

FIVE FINALISTS

TIMWORK was shortlisted on the strength of its TIMVIEW, a digital construction plan management software as a service (SaaS) program.

The software enables easy and fast access to construction plan revisions -- location or measurement changes -- and it was recently adopted by major Korean construction company Lotte Engineering & Construction Co.

eflow took second prize for its engine parts for e-mobility vehicles, ranging from e-bikes to e-scooters and micro EVs. It also makes hydrogen fuel cell-powered bikes.

Its axial flux motor is much lighter than rival engines but boasts a torque of 120 newton meters (NM), 30% to 40% more powerful than other e-mobility engines, according to the company. It has set up entities in Germany and the US to meet the growing demand for micromobility.

The other three finalists were Fornatures, the developer of Air Balancer, which purifies the air through the use of microalgae to reduce carbon dioxide in the air; Tanalysis, the developer of real-time patent analysis service PATE powered by artificial intelligence; and Akron Eco has developed an ultrasonic plastic waste recycling machine using the pyrolysis process, the thermal decomposition of materials at high temperatures.  

The participants of the March D.Day can also take advantage of KIPO-KIPA’s joint program to help them commercialize their IPs. If they apply for the program, they can receive business consulting services for the commercialization of their IPs, D.Camp said.

Write to Sookyung Seo at skseo@hankyung.com

Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.