Four Indian startups have made their way to Seoul after they were shortlisted for the K-Startup Grand Challenge programe.
K-Startup Grand Challenge is a startup accelerator programme, which is held every year in Seoul. The programe is supported by the Government of South Korea.
It offers startups from all over the world a global platform to break into the Asian market using Korea as a launchpad.
With 154 accelerators and innovation centres, as well as 143 co-working companies, Korea provides an upper hand in hi-tech research, electronics manufacturing, connectivity, quick consumer consumption of new services and more.
At the end of the acceleration programme, the government will host a Demo Day in December 2019 to felicitate the top startups. The 1st prize will receive $100,000, 2nd prize $40,000, 3rd prize $20,000 and 4th prize $6,000.
Importantly, the startups get access to a grant of up to $100,000, free office space, one-on-one mentoring, expert support, state-of-the-art R&D labs and the opportunity to work in the Global Startup campus.
They also get to attend information sessions and coaching on Korean and Asian business culture as well as consultation on topics like patents, accounting regulations, tax laws, and more.
While, the promising four shortlisted startups constitute MicroX Labs, Incubig, Aibrid Importers and Distributors Private Limited, and Xenon Automotive India Pvt Ltd.
MicroX Labs was founded by Prakhar Jain, Usama Ahmed, and Prabhat Kumar.
It has developed a platform for disposable cartridge-based products that can be used for multiple applications, such as a cartridge-based flow cytometer.
While, Incubig was founded by Ankit Lehra and Mohammed Zaffer in 2017 to solve the biggest threat to innovation, patent infringement.
The startup is creating customised IP profiles of individual innovators and startups to provide 360-degree patent analytics relevant to their product/technology.
Aibrid was founded by Naveen Peter and Rony J. Palathinkal. The platform imports multi-category products and commodities in India.
They closely work with B2B buyers in India and source products from global manufacturers and suppliers.
At last, Xenon Automotive was founded by Venkat Sreeram and Sharath Murthy. It is to revolutionise the entire automotive lifecycle and create a truly connected experience for the customer.