Korea's government just decided it wants to be a startup investor, not just a grant-giver.
A new special law targeting defense AI, quantum, space, and advanced bio could clear the National Assembly this year, backed by a plan to compress usual rulemaking timelines and have the state take direct equity stakes in early-stage deep tech. Elsewhere in Korea's startup scene, grocery delivery platform Kurly posted a twentyfold jump in operating profit as it edges toward an IPO, while AI-powered fortune-telling apps show that content differentiation, not AI horsepower alone, wins users.
Sources:
- Government Speeds Up Special Act for Future Security Innovation Companies, Aiming for Implementation as Early as Next Year — Seoul Economic Daily, 2026-08-12
- Solving AI's Power Crunch While Securing Quantum, Space, and Bio: Government to Co-Invest and Share Risk — Seoul Economic Daily, 2026-08-12
- Kurly's Q2 Operating Profit Jumps 20x Year-on-Year to 27.4 Billion Won — Seoul Economic Daily, 2026-08-12
- 'Will My Fortune Become a Webtoon?' — AI-Powered Fortune-Telling Content Sparks a Dopamine Rush — Seoul Economic Daily, 2026-08-12
- GI Innovation Advances to XPRIZE Healthspan Finals — Seoul Economic Daily, 2026-08-12
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Tags:
#KoreaStartups #DeepTech #VentureCapital #Kurly #IPO #DefenseTech #GovernmentInvestment #AIPRISM #SeoulEconomicDaily #WANIFRA
