The Ministry of SMEs and Startups hosted the annual ‘Baby Unicorn Performance Sharing Event’ this week, spotlighting the remarkable achievements of Korea’s most promising early-stage startups. The Baby Unicorn program, launched to nurture startups with high growth potential, has supported over 300 startups since its inception. This year’s event highlighted the impressive business performance and innovative breakthroughs achieved by the latest cohort.
From 2020 to 2024, a total of 300 startups were selected for and supported by the Baby Unicorn Program. As a result, the average sales of these companies increased by 137.6% compared to the time of their selection, while employment at these firms grew by 23.6%. In addition, 212 companies successfully attracted a combined KRW 2.4937 trillion in follow-up investments. Notably, 13 of these startups have grown into preliminary unicorns with corporate valuations exceeding KRW 100 billion, and 9 companies have been listed on the KOSDAQ market.
Selected companies benefited from up to KRW 300 million in market development funds and up to KRW 5 billion in technology guarantees (special guarantees). In 2025, 49 newly selected companies were awarded certificates, and an IR event was held concurrently to further support their growth. Among the outstanding cases highlighted at the event were Airs Medical, which developed a deep learning-based solution to reduce MRI scan times; LSPACE, which introduced an AI semiconductor silicon capacitor; and Cheka, an integrated used car management platform that secured KRW 7 billion in investment.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups evaluated the Baby Unicorn Nurturing Program as a leading scale-up initiative and reaffirmed its commitment to building a comprehensive venture ecosystem in Korea.
