The criteria investors evaluate during startup IRs vary depending on the industry and growth stage. Climate tech companies must demonstrate how much energy and carbon they reduce, while materials, parts, and equipment (SoBuJang) companies must present customer evaluations and mass production feasibility in addition to technological performance. AI companies require business scalability, including data and model performance, customer acquisition, and operating costs. The Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center connected 15 startups in the climate tech, SoBuJang, and AI sectors with investors, categorized by their growth stage and business type.
The Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center held the ’40th and 41st Startup 815 IR’ at the Pangyo Startup Zone on the 13th. At the 40th session, six companies participating in the Climate Tech Startup Incubation Program and the 6th KB Unicorn Club presented their IRs, while at the 41st session, nine companies participating in the 2026 Early Stage Startup Package Deep Tech Specialized Type presented theirs.
Startup 815 IR is a regular program where startups seeking investment introduce their technology, business models, and market entry strategies to investors. It operates by reviewing business plans and identifying potential for follow-up investment through investor Q&A, feedback, and company-specific networking following the presentations.
Three climate tech companies participated in the 40th IR. YC Corporation introduced a subscription-based Factory Energy Management System (FEMS) that monitors power usage at small business manufacturing sites and optimizes equipment operation. It is a service that reduces energy costs and inefficient operating hours by analyzing power data for each piece of manufacturing equipment.
Newton announced ‘CarbonDoc AI,’ which supports carbon project registration using intelligent climate agents. The goal is to reduce the time and workload involved in project registration by using AI to assist with the data and documentation processes required for carbon reduction initiatives.
VMS Holdings introduced Co-pilot, an agentic AI-based decision-making simulation designed to address international shipping and vessel carbon regulations. It is a system that analyzes vessel operating conditions and regulatory standards to compare carbon emission response strategies and support decision-making.
Exist, Duudle, and Xpy participated in the 6th KB Unicorn Club. Exist presented ‘Vcare,’ an AI solution that automates operations in global nursing facilities, while Duudle announced ‘Duudle,’ an AI platform that connects independent experts and sole proprietors with customers. Xpy showcased ‘Factory ExpertX,’ a large-scale language model management service specialized for manufacturing sites.
The 41st IR was divided into SEED, Materials, Parts, and Equipment (SoBuJang), Series A, and AI divisions based on investment stage and technology sector. The structure separates SoBuJang companies, where early-stage technology verification and product development are crucial, from AI companies requiring market expansion strategies, allowing investors to review businesses according to their growth stage.
Four companies, including Bison, Q Imaging, Zephyros Electronics, and Hammer Industries, participated in the SEED·Materials, Parts, and Equipment Division.
Bison develops non-destructive quality inspection solutions that use AI to analyze noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) signals to detect product defects in the manufacturing process. Q Imaging introduced AI vision equipment for inspecting TGVs, which are micro-through-electrodes for semiconductor glass substrates.
Zephyros Electronics develops wiring solutions for robots featuring ultra-low power, wireless control, and electromagnetic compatibility immunity. Hammer Industries announced a control platform that manages both safety and equipment uptime by precisely stopping only the necessary areas in manufacturing sites where workers and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) move together.
Five companies participated in the Series A·AI division: Scone AI, Unit Lab, Trace Weave, Oneness Korea, and Q-Tip.
Scon AI introduced its AI simultaneous interpretation service ‘SconChat,’ while Unit Lab showcased a smart modular housing platform combining AI design and Building Information Modeling (BIM). Traceweave announced a solution that automatically generates regulatory documentation for automobiles and robots by integrating with Git, a software code repository.
Oneness Korea develops high-precision 3D motion generation and retargeting software that is installed and used within the enterprise without an external cloud connection. Q-Tip has introduced a multimodal Search Augmentation Generation (RAG)-based AI video production multi-agent system that searches and utilizes various data such as text, images, and videos.
What remains after the IR is follow-up meetings and verification data
While all 15 participating companies put forward AI or deep tech as their core technologies, the evidence required for investment review varies by sector. Manufacturing energy management and shipping carbon response services must present quantifiable data on cost savings, carbon emissions, and regulatory compliance timelines at actual customer sites. For carbon project registration services, applicable certification frameworks and documentation accuracy also serve as verification criteria.
In addition to technical performance, startups in the materials, parts, and equipment (Sobujang) sector must prepare for repeatable measurement results, durability, compatibility with existing processes and equipment, customer evaluation periods, and mass production costs. Technologies applied to manufacturing equipment, such as semiconductor glass substrate inspection and robotic wiring, require a lengthy verification process from the Proof of Concept (PoC) to entry into the actual production line.
In addition to model accuracy and response speed, AI companies must be verified to have use cases for which customers pay. For simultaneous interpretation, language-specific quality and latency; for manufacturing-specialized LLM, understanding of field terminology and security methods; and for regulatory document automation, the accuracy and traceability of generated documents influence investment decisions.
There are also differences depending on the investment stage. For seed-stage companies, the priority is to have a clear problem to solve and demonstrate the feasibility of technology implementation. The Series A stage requires a repeatable sales structure, customer retention rates, revenue growth, and an organization and product system capable of expanding when additional funds are injected.
This event provided participating companies with an opportunity to verify missing data and business plans through investor questions. Substantive results are expected to be confirmed not by the presentation evaluations on the day of the event, but by the number of companies advancing to follow-up meetings, technical due diligence, client PoCs, and investment reviews.
An official from the Gyeonggi Innovation Center stated, “This served as an opportunity for promising companies in the climate tech, materials, parts, and equipment, and AI sectors to communicate directly with investors and assess their business performance and market competitiveness,” adding, “We will expand investment opportunities tailored to the growth stages of companies and provide support to help them scale up.”
The role of Startup 815 IR begins with bringing technology companies and investors together. Subsequently, it reconnects investors suited to each company’s technology verification status and growth stage, and the likelihood of actual investment increases only when the areas for improvement identified during the IR are reflected in the data for the next meeting. The next outcome of this program will be whether the 15 companies participating in the 40th and 41st sessions can translate investor feedback into rationale for technology demonstration, customer acquisition, and follow-up investment.
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