50 million won per team, startup credits accepted in lieu of thesis papers

Teams selected for the 2026 UST Startup Track pose for a photo. [UST]
Teams selected for the 2026 UST Startup Track pose for a photo. [UST]

Startups commercializing cutting-edge national laboratory technologies — from AI-driven drug development and next-generation hydrogen storage to metal 3D printing — are moving into full swing. The ventures follow a new model in which graduate students and their faculty advisers launch companies together, with startup achievements counting toward a degree in place of published papers.

The University of Science and Technology (UST) announced Thursday that it had selected nine final teams for its 2026 UST Startup Track, a program designed to commercialize core technologies developed at national research institutes.

UST held an additional selection evaluation Wednesday, adding four new teams to the program. Combined with the five teams chosen in June, a total of nine teams will receive startup support this year.

The four newly selected teams are: RadiAI from the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS) school; Hyper from the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) school; and DED Process Development Team and CS LAB, both from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) school.

RadiAI is developing an AI platform that predicts the in-body distribution and toxicity of radiopharmaceutical candidates before clinical use. Hyper is working to commercialize a technology that stores and supplies hydrogen in solid form without high-pressure compression.

The DED Process Development Team is pursuing a metal 3D printing technique to restore damaged ship propellers, while CS LAB presented a startup concept built around an industrial emissions measurement system that dilutes high-concentration carbon dioxide, measures it and then calculates the original concentration.

The five previously selected teams are: UST Guardian from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) school; MH NOVA from the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) school; KinetiCloud from the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) school; AIS from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) school; and Plasma Aqua from the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) school.

Following the first round of evaluations in June, UST supported the prospective startup teams in refining their business models through expert mentoring sessions, entrepreneurship lectures and a deep tech startup bootcamp incorporating AI.

The latest evaluation focused on how well teams had addressed earlier feedback, their overall capabilities and the strength of the joint entrepreneurial commitment between faculty and students.

Each of the nine selected teams will receive 50 million won ($37,400) in startup project funding. Degree requirements will also be applied flexibly to allow students to focus on their startup activities.

Doctoral students who meet certain conditions — such as establishing a corporation — may substitute startup achievements for a first-author publication in an SCIE-level international journal. Master's students may submit a startup report in place of a thesis. Teams will also have opportunities to experience overseas startup ecosystems, including a study tour to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the United States.

The UST Startup Track is a program in which students conducting research at national laboratories and their faculty supervisors form a team to directly commercialize their research outcomes. At its core is what UST calls "mentor-mentee co-founding" — professors and students divide roles and equity stakes and participate jointly in everything from technology development to company formation.

"It is meaningful that students and professors have been given the opportunity to build their capabilities and take on new challenges through startup education and mentoring," UST President Kang Dae-im said. "We will build a research-centered university where student entrepreneurship thrives, so that the deep tech of national laboratories can move beyond the lab and create new value in the market."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com