Hanyang University (President Lee Ki-jung) announced that it successfully held an IR Demo Day as part of the third-stage follow-up support program of the ‘2023 Innovation Startup School Track (IT & Services)’, achieving investment commitment agreements with participating investors.

Now in its fifth year of operating the Innovation Startup School program, Hanyang University stated that it hosted an IR Demo Day on the 8th at the Korea Science and Technology Center to support investment attraction for third-stage participants.

The event was organized by Hanyang University as part of efforts to strengthen customized IR pitching capabilities for each third-stage participant.

Amid a global economic downturn and rising interest rates since last year, which have led to a slowdown in the venture investment ecosystem, the program was designed to support the growth and development of participating startups.

During the two-week third-stage program, held from November 4 to 8, participants received advanced IR pitching training, as well as intensive coaching and mentoring from professional investors and mentors, gaining practical know-how for investment attraction. Following this, all participating teams passed the evaluation at the IR Demo Day and successfully secured investment commitment agreements.

A total of 12 teams achieved investment commitments through the third-stage program, including: ▲ Go Jong-oh (multilingual ICT content production for the Korean proficiency test, TOPIK) ▲ Kim Dong-wook (Generative AI-based package design and 3D mockup solution) ▲ Kim Min-seok (Aiders – Premium travel mate) ▲ Kim Soo-hwan (AI data engine-based influencer marketing all-in-one SaaS program) ▲ Kim Juhyung (Data-driven smart city infrastructure data management system ‘Rename D.P’) ▲ Park Sung-jin (One-stop apparel label production solution ‘JINPIL’) ▲ Park Seung-sol (Personalized kiosk-in-hand without QR: Eat It) ▲ Bae Jae-woo (Location-based real-time Q&A overseas travel platform ‘HiFin’) ▲ Song Hanna (Generative AI-based design agent service ‘aida’) ▲ Lee Sang-ho (Content production solution) ▲ Lee Heon-chang (AI-based real estate asset management platform “Profit”) ▲ Choi Ha-young (Generative AI-based tax workflow innovation solution: Tax Canvas)

At the IR Demo Day hosted by Hanyang University, the Grand Prize was awarded to ▲ Park Sung-jin (one-stop apparel label production solution “JINPIL”), while the Excellence Award went to ▲ Kim Soo-hwan (AI data engine-based influencer marketing all-in-one platform and SaaS). The Merit Award was presented to ▲ Park Seung-sol (personalized kiosk-in-hand solution without QR: “Eat It”), and the Encouragement Award was given to ▲ Kim Juhyung (data-driven infrastructure data management system for smart cities, “Rename D.P”).

Jeon Sang-kyung, Director of the Hanyang University Startup Support Foundation, stated, “Through this third-stage follow-up program of the Innovation Startup School, promising startup teams in the IT and service sectors successfully secured 12 investment commitment agreements with investors.” He added, “While final investment decisions will be made after due diligence and detailed negotiations, we believe this will serve as an important catalyst for the growth of startups providing innovative solutions in the IT and service sectors, even amid an overall economic downturn.”

The Innovation Startup School is a government-supported entrepreneurship education program under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, designed for aspiring entrepreneurs. It provides step-by-step training on essential startup knowledge, including business model development and practical startup operations. Among approximately 2,100 participants, top-performing trainees (around 21 individuals) are further supported through linkage to startup commercialization programs such as the Preliminary Startup Package, making it a unique national-level initiative that actively promotes startup success.