LG seeks outside innovators' ideas on new growth drivers at Superstart Day    

LG Group, South Korea’s fourth-largest business group, is actively embracing collaboration with outside innovators to foster its new growth drivers, namely artificial intelligence, bio and clean technologies.

The company has invited 40 startups in the AI, bio, cleantech, materials, parts, equipment and lifestyle sectors to its annual open innovation event, dubbed Superstart Day 2023.

The two-day event opened on Thursday at the conglomerate’s research center LG Science Park in Seoul is the sixth of its kind, and LG has been tapping startups to unlock hidden potential at the annual event since 2018.

It is especially focusing on new partnership and investment opportunities in its new growth areas of AI, bio and clean technologies this year.

Zkrypto, developer of a blockchain technology-powered online voting system, and Basgenbio, developer of a novel drug development platform using genomic data, are among the participants of this year’s event that initially attracted about 1,600 applicants.  

Netspa, which owns a technology to extract high-purity nylon from fishing net waste, has also joined the event.

Startups taking part in the event will demonstrate their promising technologies to seek partnerships with LG companies.

LG shared its joint achievements with nine startups it has incubated and accelerated over a year.

Ujura Company, the developer of a pet health data platform based on a disease prediction technology, is one of those startups.

“We will fast-track our foray into future growth sectors with relentless efforts to unearth startups with innovative ideas and technologies and collaborate with them,” I.P. Park, president of LG Science Park, said on Thursday. 

TO UNLOCK HIDDEN POTENTIAL 

LG has turned aggressive in fostering its next growth pillars since the beginning of this year. 

Last month, LG Corp., the holding company of LG Group, invested $10 million in a fund run by US private equity firm Vista Equity Partners Management LLC. to invest in future technologies.

Its venture investment arm LG Technology Ventures based in Silicon Valley also invited 140 startups and venture capital firms to a two-day open innovation event in Silicon Valley, California in June to find new partners in its future growth engines.

LG Technology Ventures managing more than $400 million in assets has invested in some 60 global startups and VC managers specializing in AI, mobility, advanced materials, life science, display and 5G networks since its inception in 2018.

Its electronics unit LG Electronics Inc. in August announced a plan to invest over $100 million in a startup fund, NOVA Prime Fund, with global investment advisory and asset management firm Clearbrook LLC by 2024.

Starting with Superstart Day, LG will host a series of tech fair events throughout September to spark creative and unexpected ideas.

It will hold a Developers Conference September 14-15 to discuss AI/big data, mobility/automotive, platform/architecture, SW/development culture, cloud and emerging technology. James Gosling, known as the father of the Java programming language, will deliver a keynote speech.  

Other various community events incorporating technology and cultural events have also been organized.

About 260 startups from 26 countries have participated since 2018.

Write to Ye-Rin Choi at rambutan@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.