South Korea to Back Overseas Pilots for Eight AI Startups Across Six Countries

Eight promising South Korean AI startups will begin piloting their technologies in six countries across three continents, as part of a government-backed initiative aimed at accelerating global market entry.

On June 17, Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced the official launch of the “AI and Digital Transformation Global Pilot Program.” The initiative is designed to help domestic AI solution providers validate their technologies in real-world settings overseas, across sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, education, and agriculture & livestock.

Through this program, participating startups will partner with foreign companies and institutions—ranging from public agencies to universities and private enterprises—to demonstrate the effectiveness of their AI solutions. The ministry will provide financial support for pilot operations and help facilitate matches with international demand partners.

The pilot program began with a global demand solicitation drive run by the Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN) from March 21 to April 11. Following a highly competitive selection process that attracted 57 applicants between April 21 and May 12, eight consortiums—each pairing a Korean startup with an overseas partner—were ultimately chosen to receive government support.

The selected startups include:

• Healthcare: Monit, Tetra Signum
• Manufacturing: Tilda, CubeSeventeen
• Education: CodePresso, Classum
• Agriculture and Livestock: Robotware.AI, Triplet

Their overseas partners are located across Europe, North and Central America, and Asia. The pilot activities—ranging from solution development and field testing to impact assessment—are set to run through the end of the year.

All participating startups joined an orientation session on June 13, hosted by GDIN, the designated implementing agency. As of this week, the companies are finalizing agreements and beginning formal implementation of their pilot projects.

MSIT plans to evaluate each project’s outcomes later this year, measuring performance and potential for global expansion. Building on this round, the ministry also aims to further institutionalize international pilot programs to help more Korean AI startups establish a global footprint.

The original Korean-language article can be found on the official Korea Policy Briefing site.

Image Source: Korea Policy Briefing