8 Startups Recommended by Venture Square, Selected for TIPS in 2024

Venture Square (CEO Myeong Seung-eun) announced on the 10th that a total of 8 startups recommended by the company this year were selected for TIPS.

The number of companies recommended by Venture Square and selected for TIPS is 4 in 2016, 3 in 2017, 4 in 2018, 2 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 12 in 2021, 13 in 2022, 8 in 2023, and 8 in 2024, for a total of 58 companies over the past 8 years. The information and communication sector showed the largest proportion with 28 companies, accounting for nearly half of the total. In addition, various companies were selected in the bio/medical (11 companies), machinery/materials, and electrical/electronics (6 each) sectors and received TIPS support.

Among them, the companies that succeeded in TIPS with investment and support from Venture Square in 2024 are ▲ Lala Company (CEO Lee Joo-seong, development of AI analysis technology for precise urine test kits for designing customized nutritional supplements for pets) ▲ iLive (CEO Lee Do-hee, research and development of generative AI-based 3D content production technology) ▲ APGreen (CEO Park Tae-yoon, carbon conversion device using low-temperature plasma technology) ▲ Ravino Co., Ltd. (CEO Choi Jeong-sik, development of AI-based technology in the sports field) ▲ Icon Casting (CEO Hwang Jae-geun, operation of K-fandom platform 'Peak Nip' service) ▲ Studio Free Willusion (CEO Kwon Han-seul, AI video production, AI advertising, AI movie, generative AI video media tech startup) ▲ Artrasix (CEO Seong Gyeong-ho, providing SaaS solutions for galleries, artists, and collectors through Art Spoon, which specializes in data management in the art market) ▲ Magic Ecole (CEO Choi Jae-gyu, project-based talent recruitment platform optimized for developer training and discovery).

Lara Company is a manufacturer that produces single-use feed and other feeds and operates the B2B platform ' Forever My Pet '. 'Forever My Pet' is a platform that distributes pet-related products to approximately 1,500 businesses, including animal hospitals, pet shops, and unmanned stores. After being selected for the Startup Leap Package in March 2023, Lara Company has continued to grow steadily, surpassing 1,500 B2B customers in May of the same year.

iRive is a 3D content creation AI startup that focuses on solving inefficiencies in animation and motion capture work through text-based motion creation technology. Starting with this, the company aims to create a market where anyone can easily create and utilize 3D content. iRive is utilizing iRive technology in its production pipeline and is expanding its customer base targeting the movie, advertisement, animation, and virtual human markets.

AP Green is a startup developing low-temperature plasma-based clean hydrogen production technology. This technology aims to reduce carbon emissions and lower the cost of producing hydrogen energy. AP Green aims to accelerate the commercialization of clean hydrogen production technology and strengthen global partnerships through this TIPS selection to commercialize clean hydrogen technology.

Ravino Co., Ltd. is an AI golf tech company that is currently developing a multi-golf ball tracking system called ‘ShoTrack’ and is actively advancing into overseas markets such as Japan as well as Korea. ShotTrack is a product that applies ‘stereo calibration’ technology to the golf field and can measure the trajectory of a golf ball. Ravino is currently accelerating the development of an AI coaching service and is preparing a service that analyzes and helps correct golf swings using an AI analysis engine.

Icon Casting is a company that operates the photo frame fandom platform 'Picknip'. 'Picknip' provides daily life photos of idols (such as unreleased photos from music show waiting rooms) in the form of online photo cards for a limited period. In order to solve problems with online digital photos and illegal distribution, they are exploring various methods such as applying DRM in partnership with security service company 'Pasu'.

Studio Freewillusion is a media tech startup that has been gaining attention since its establishment in 2023 for its technological innovations that address inefficiencies in video production. The company’s web-based AI platform aims to automate manual tasks in video editing, upscaling, VFX, and audio production, thereby providing an efficient and creative work environment. It is also advancing a multimodal AI model that can comprehensively understand and generate text, video, and audio data.

Artrasix , an operator of a physical artwork NFT trading platform, has launched 'Artspoon', a SaaS solution for artists and galleries. Artspoon is a platform that helps galleries and artists efficiently manage and promote their artworks, and provides intuitive functions optimized for user experience. Artrasix plans to accelerate commercialization through the TIPS research project, and in particular, will focus on developing personalized curating services to increase the sophistication of artwork recommendations and maximize the conversion rate of art sales in galleries.

Magic Ecole is a PBT recruitment platform development company that started as an AIot specialized consulting company in 2010 and has evolved into an AI cloud SaaS-based specialized education company. The Magic Ecole PBT platform is a project-based talent recruitment platform optimized for training and discovering developers in the digital transformation era. PBT provides a service that tests developers' skills, which are difficult to verify during a short interview time, through an online system, expanding the scope of 24H, 48H, and 72H using five major project-based items, and provides reporting that can evaluate developer capabilities in various ways.

TIPS is a private investment-led technology startup support program hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Selected companies can receive up to 700 million won in government subsidies. In particular, since last year, the 'Deep Tech TIPS' program has been established and operated to support startups in future innovation fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), robots, and aerospace, which provides three times the amount of funds compared to general TIPS.

Venture Square CEO Myeongseung said, “The TIPS program is a useful government support program that can secure technological perfection and survival capability during the technology development period of startups, and it will continue to be a top priority when investing in technology companies.”

Meanwhile, Venture Square is a leading domestic accelerator that operates as a TIPS operator under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Venture Square is the only accelerator in Korea and operates a specialized startup media, playing a role in providing necessary information to early-stage startups in a timely manner. In particular, Venture Square has contributed to the selection of a total of 59 companies for recommended TIPS over the past four years since 2021.