COMEUP 2021 receives record 738 startup applications for ‘COMEUP Stars’ leagues

The Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the 2021 COMEUP Organizing Committee announced it has received 738 applications from innovative startups at home and abroad to participate in its ace program COMEUP Stars.

COMEUP is South Korea’s biggest global startup festival. It enters its third year when it will be held from November 17th to 19th with a new hybrid model of on-and-offline hosting.

Applications received from 37 countries including Korea

The ‘COMEUP Stars’ program nominates 72 ground-breaking startups who receive a benefits package including pitch video production, mentoring, business meeting, feedback camp, closed-door pitching sessions, and more. The COMEUPStars are divided into two leagues – Rocket & Rookie, with 36 in each league. According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Organizing Committee, as a result of the call for applications from July 6 to August 5, 783 startups from 37 countries, including Korea, have applied for COMEUP Stars. This is a high competition rate record of 10.9:1 for the final 72 companies.

This year, the ‘Rocket League’, the startups that can grow into the next unicorn, will be recruited through the recommendation from’Korea Venture Investment Corp. (KVIC)‘, and the ‘Rookie League’, startups with great potential, will be recruited through the COMEUP website, just like last year.

In the case of the ‘Rookie League’, which was conducted through an open call, 664 companies applied to recruit 36 companies, showing a high competition ratio of 18.4:1. Country-wise, most applications were received from India, which has 36 unicorn companies (26 companies), followed by Singapore (23 companies), the United States (20 companies), and Vietnam (10 companies).

Final list in September

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Organizing Committee analyzed that K-Startup’s growth and other strong ecosystem status increased the interest in domestic and foreign startups’ for COMEUP event leading to high participation. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Organizing Committee will go through a preliminary review (disqualification check) → 1st evaluation (written evaluation) → 2nd evaluation (online presentation evaluation) targeting the applicant companies (783 companies), and finally, select 72 companies by early September.

The final selected ‘COMEUP Stars’ will be provided with free corporate promotional videos and will be presented on-site at the COMEUP event in November, as well as will get opportunities through networking and overseas advancement through IR training, mentoring, and biz matching for global investors.

Ahn Seong-woo, CEO of Zigbang, who serves as the chairperson of the ‘COMEUP STARS’ evaluation and the chairman of the COMEUP 2021 organizing committee, said, “I would like to thank the domestic and foreign innovative companies that applied for the COMEUP Stars. We will do our best to select innovative startups with expertise and growth potential that will lead the era of great transformation.”

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