Asia’s premier startup fair, NextRise 2026, Seoul, officially kicked off at COEX in Gangnam on 18th drawing over 1,100 startups and 270 corporate and investor partners from 30 countries for a two-day showcase of global innovation.
Now in its 8th edition, the event is co-hosted by Korea Development Bank (KDB), the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the Korea Venture Business Association, and the Korea Venture Capital Association. This year’s theme — “Shape the Next” — anchored a packed program of booth exhibitions, keynote conferences, and one-on-one business meetups.
AI Giants Take Center Stage
The defining headline of NextRise 2026 was the sweeping presence of global AI powerhouses . OpenAI and Palantir made their debut appearances at the fair, joining returning partners Google, Anthropic, NVIDIA, and Perplexity, each operating independent exhibition booths to deepen ties with Korean startups.
The opening day keynote was delivered by Marc Manara, OpenAI’s Head of Startups, who spoke on the theme “From Models to Agents.” Manara told a packed audience that AI adoption is rapidly expanding across coding, search, shopping, and content production — and cited OpenAI’s coding agent Codex surpassing 5 million users as proof that the agentic era has already arrived .
Anthropic went a step further by co-launching an AI development challenge for startups alongside Korea Investment Accelerator and Replit, signaling its intent to position Korea as a key hub for AI innovation in Asia .
Corporate Korea Opens Its Doors
Traditional industry giants used NextRise as a platform for open innovation. Hanwha Aerospace made its first-ever appearance at the fair as a major Korean defense conglomerate, setting up a joint booth with 21 partner companies and publicly presenting 12 technology collaboration challenges — covering anti-drone systems and AI data processing for autonomous unmanned vehicles .
Korean Air showcased AI-powered unmanned aerial systems and smart MRO (maintenance, repair & overhaul) technology, opening channels for aerospace and defense-focused startups. Renault Korea unveiled its in-house “AI Orchestrator” — an AI integration agent — for the first time, and exhibited its Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) strategy alongside Kakao Mobility and T Map Mobility . LG SuperStart, LG Group’s open innovation platform, co-exhibited with its portfolio companies and unveiled a “Space Frontier” special display area, spotlighting collaboration with a space exploration rover startup.
Marking 140 years of Korea-France diplomatic relations, France was invited as this year’s guest nation . French Digital and AI Ambassador Clara Chappaz and French Ambassador to Korea Philippe Bertoux attended the event and delivered remarks on bilateral startup ecosystem cooperation. The French national pavilion featured major corporations including Renault, Veolia, and Stellantis, alongside over 20 French startups seeking Korean business partners . Other country pavilions — including Taipei and Startup Germany — added to the fair’s international breadth.
Over two days, more than 4,000 one-on-one business meetups were held between startups and corporations or investors, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Salesforce, Airbus, and Altos Ventures. A conference track featuring over 60 sessions ran alongside the exhibitions, with Day 2 headlined by Nicolas Champetier, Executive Vice President of Renault Group, speaking on mobility innovation through startup partnerships. Public institutions including the Creative Economy Innovation Center, Korea VCA, and the Korea Creative Content Agency also operated booths and dedicated pitching stations.
NextRise 2026 wraps up on June 19, cementing Seoul’s growing reputation as a leading destination for global startup collaboration and investment.
