Representatives of winning companies and participating organizations pose for a photo at the awards ceremony of the 2026 G Valley Startup Competition, held Wednesday at the G Valley Corporate Citizens Hall in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. [Korea Industrial Complex Corp.]
Representatives of winning companies and participating organizations pose for a photo at the awards ceremony of the 2026 G Valley Startup Competition, held Wednesday at the G Valley Corporate Citizens Hall in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. [Korea Industrial Complex Corp.]

10th edition draws 36-to-1 ratio; 9 startups win awards

Semiconductor-based embedded security, medical AI payment tech recognized

Total purse of 32 million won; winners to receive follow-on investment support, TIPS recommendations

Korea Industrial Complex Corp. held the demo day and awards ceremony for the 2026 G Valley Startup Competition — the event's 10th edition — at the G Valley Corporate Citizens Hall in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul on Wednesday, naming Mobilwithus and Lazenka AI as grand prize winners.

This year's competition drew 432 teams from across the country, a ratio of 36 to 1. Twelve teams that cleared the document screening stage went through company assessments, expert consulting and mock IR sessions, with nine ultimately taking home awards.

Mobilwithus, which received Seoul Metropolitan Government Mayor's Award, developed an embedded security platform that protects automotive, robot and industrial equipment controllers starting at the semiconductor chip level. Lazenka AI, which received the Korea Industrial Complex Corp. Chairman's Award, presented Medibaro, a business-to-business payment platform that uses AI to analyze and securitize national health insurance benefit bonds held by medical institutions.

Quantum Hitech and Biobytes took gold prizes, while Higher Corporation and Oliveworks received silver. Bronze awards went to Unitlab, EJM Company and A-dot Cure.

The nine winning companies shared a total purse of 32 million won ($23,900). They are also eligible for preferential points when applying to move into startup incubation facilities at Korea Industrial Complex Corp. and Soongsil University, along with support that includes large and mid-sized company open innovation meetups, follow-on investment and TIPS recommendations, and connections to the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund's U-Connect program.

The G Valley Startup Competition was launched in 2017 to identify promising startups in the Seoul Digital National Industrial Complex. This year's event was hosted by Korea Industrial Complex Corp. and supported by eight organizations, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Guro-gu, Geumcheon-gu, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

"We will work with participating organizations and investors to provide continued support for outstanding startups," said Park Jong-bae, head of Korea Industrial Complex Corp.'s Seoul regional headquarters.


hong@heraldcorp.com