When K-startups go G-global

Just three years in, participants in our “Global K-Startup” initiative to help expand the business scope of promising Korean startups are flourishing. According to the Korean Internet & Security Agency, the eleven startups that went through the five-month program in 2012 and 2013 have attracted investments worth a total of US$15 million.

The winners of the 2014 Global K-Startup program have returned from a two week trip to Silicon Valley and New York, where they participated in workshops, met potential investors and built relationships with entrepreneurs, and got tips from YouTube founder Steve Chen.

Top: Global K-Startup winners with YouTube founder Steve Chen;
Bottom: Workshops with 500 Startups, accelerators and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley

Here are the six winners that were selected among 568 teams, ranging from e-commerce to health care service providers. Keep an eye out for them as they make waves in the startup community—in Korea and overseas.

• Snapshop makes cross-border e-commerce easier and faster, offering customers a simplified payment, shipping and delivery experience
• Genoplan offers a genetic analysis toolkit and service to extract DNA from saliva to provide personalized health care treatments
• Let’s Fold is a mobile app that reimagines the art of origami (the tradition of paper folding), enabling players to compete, share and connect with their friends over social platforms
• Notivo keeps track of information and events happening online around the world, and sends automatic notifications to users
• Gamchen enables gamers to broadcast their games to their friends and other users in realtime
• FromDL is a private social network aimed at supportting carers of children with nevus

The 2014 Global K-Startup Award ceremony in Seoul

Posted by Lois Kim, Head of Communications and Jae-Hoon Chung, Senior Public Policy Counsel, Google Korea