'2026 CMK Impactpreneur Climate Tech Demo Day' held at Temasek Shophouse

Foundation collaborates with global impact investment platform Coexis

Ten startups from South Korea and Singapore gather under one roof

Program includes market education, one-on-one meetups and ecosystem visits

Participants pose for a group photo at the 2026 CMK Impactpreneur Climate Tech Demo Day. [Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation]
Participants pose for a group photo at the 2026 CMK Impactpreneur Climate Tech Demo Day. [Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation]

The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation held the "2026 CMK Impactpreneur Climate Tech Demo Day" at Temasek Shophouse in Singapore on Wednesday (local time), in collaboration with Coexis, a global impact investment and ecosystem-building platform established by Temasek Trust.

The event was designed to help South Korean impact startups — those tackling environmental challenges such as climate change, resource circulation and pollution through innovative technology and business models — expand into overseas markets. The foundation focused on validating the participating companies' viability in the Singapore market and broadening their global growth opportunities there, given Singapore's standing as a major investment and startup hub in Asia.

Ten teams took part in the demo day: eight South Korean impact startups nurtured through the foundation's CMK Impactpreneur program, and two Singapore-based startups identified and developed by Coexis. The participating companies presented their technologies and business models to local investors and impact ecosystem stakeholders, and used the investment-focused feedback to explore paths to growth in the Asian market.

The eight South Korean impact startups were Newtown, which uses AI to calculate carbon reductions and lower the cost of official certification; COC Lab, which develops wheelchair-related solutions using eco-friendly materials; Econect, which produces customized recycled plastics for businesses based on a waste database; Obicle Bio, which develops functional microbial fertilizers that reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation; Open Energy, which supports carbon reduction by analyzing power consumption data from small and midsize manufacturers; Wishbuilder, a high-efficiency distributed water treatment company that purifies contaminated water into drinking water; Irimso, which uses data to analyze the ecological and environmental value of urban parks and green spaces to support related decision-making; and Plantner, which enhances the value of blue carbon as a carbon sink by utilizing alginate, a marine biotech raw material.

Two Singapore-based startups also participated: Forte Biotech, which develops rapid molecular diagnostic solutions for aquaculture and livestock, and Lincore, which refines critical raw materials from battery waste.

At the demo day venue, the climate tech products and solutions of all 10 participating teams were on display alongside outstanding works from the "2026 Hyundai Go Green Hackathon." Now in its fifth year, the Hyundai hackathon featured Temasek Foundation as a partner under an MOU on youth talent development signed between Hyundai Motor Group's Singapore Global Innovation Center and Temasek Foundation.

Ahead of the demo day, the foundation ran a preparatory program to help participating companies understand the Singapore market and its local startup and investment ecosystem, and to sharpen their pitching strategies. Working with local organizations including Roadstart and the Singapore Exchange, the foundation provided education on ASEAN climate tech trends and strategies for entering the Singapore market, and arranged one-on-one business meetups between each company and local investors and experts so that each firm could receive tailored feedback on its business model and localization plans.

The participating companies are also scheduled to visit key local startup and impact ecosystem organizations on Thursday — the day after the demo day — including raiSE, Singapore's Centre for Social Enterprise, and Stage One, the Singapore government's startup support platform, to learn about the startup support framework and observe innovation firsthand.

"We plan to support the participating companies in directly understanding the local market and investment environment, verifying their business potential in the Asian market, and identifying opportunities that could lead to future investment and business cooperation," a foundation official said.

The Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation has been actively expanding its startup support efforts, including recently hosting a "Green Society Climate Tech Pitching Session" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, together with RMI, a US climate technology support organization, and D3, a startup development organization.


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