“Recode the Future”: COMEUP 2025 opens, affirming South Korea's status as a new technology unicorn.

The opening ceremony, held on the morning of December 10th in Seoul, brought together hundreds of innovative startups, investors, large corporations, and representatives from 46 countries, reinforcing South Korea's role as a leading startup hub in Asia.

South Korea's largest startup event, COMEUP 2025, officially opened at COEX, Seoul, with the message "Recode the Future".

The opening ceremony, held on the morning of December 10th, brought together hundreds of innovative startups, investors, major businesses, and representatives from 46 countries, reinforcing South Korea's role as a leading startup hub in Asia.

Organized by the Korean Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises & Startups (MSS), the event took place from December 10-12 and included a series of activities such as conferences, exhibitions, investment networking, investor relations demonstrations, and open innovation programs.

A gateway connecting global startups: COMEUP enters its 7th year.

Launched in 2019, COMEUP has become one of the most anticipated technology events in South Korea, bringing together innovative startups, venture capitalists (VCs), large corporations, and startup support organizations from around the world .

This year, COMEUP 2025 made its mark with 275 Korean and international startups participating in the exhibition.

Startups from 46 countries and 7 national pavilions (Saudi Arabia, India, etc.) are expected. More than 2,000 business networking sessions are planned, with the participation of many Global VCs, CVCs, and large corporations.

Strategic AI collaboration: High-level meeting between MSS and HUMAIN (Saudi Arabia)

Prior to the opening ceremony, MSS Minister Han Seong-suk held an important meeting with Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN, an AI corporation established by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in May 2025.

HUMAIN is investing heavily across the entire AI value chain: next-generation megadata centers, AI and cloud infrastructure, large-scale language modeling (LLM), and comprehensive AI application platforms.

Mr. Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN.

Mr. Tareq Amin, keynote speaker at COMEUP 2025, expressed his desire to strengthen deeper cooperation with South Korean semiconductor, AI, and deep-tech startups, including the possibility of opening a HUMAIN Korea office.

The MSS Minister highly appreciated HUMAIN's role in the program to support Korean startups entering the Middle East – a joint initiative between the Korean and Saudi Arabian governments in 2025.

MSS also published the "Guide to Entering the Saudi Arabian Market," to assist Korean businesses in exploring this promising market.

An impressive opening ceremony: Startups are the force "reshaping the future".

Opening the event, CEO Luke Jinu Kim of LINER – an AI search startup selected for the Preliminary Unicorn list – gave a unique AI-integrated performance, conveying the message:

"If AI predicts the future, then startups are the ones rewriting it."

This year's keynote speakers include Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN, and Park Sunghyun, CEO of Rebellions (a leading South Korean AI semiconductor startup). Both emphasized the importance of AI in shaping future economies .

Conferences, exhibitions, and investment networking: Highlights of COMEUP 2025

Over the three days of the event, a series of thematic workshops were held revolving around technology, entrepreneurship, and social change. Highlights included: The Future of the App Ecosystem in the Age of AI (Android & Google Play); Technology for Society: The Journey to Overcoming the Climate Crisis; Gen Z Through the Eyes of Kakao and Toss (born between 2004-2006); and Entrepreneurial Life Through the Eyes of Their Children.

The exhibition area attracted startups from various fields: AI, robotics, biotechnology, digital healthcare, fintech, deep-tech, etc.

In addition, the participation of 35 large and medium-sized enterprises helps increase the potential for collaborative innovation, especially in activities such as 1:1 business matching, the Open Innovation Program, and investor relations pitching. Furthermore, it provides numerous opportunities for international startups.

The MSS minister visits a booth.

In addition to the main program, COMEUP 2025 also organizes: a ceremony honoring individuals and organizations contributing to the startup ecosystem, the opening of the OpenData X AI Challenge, an AI testing support program, the Challenge! K-Startup 2025 King of Kings final, the K-Startup Grand Challenge Demo Day, and the selection of the best international startup team.

These activities provide a strong impetus for startups looking to enter the South Korean and Asian markets.

COMEUP 2025 - A global networking platform for Vietnamese startups.

Attending the event as an international press agency, VietnamPlus recognizes significant opportunities for Vietnamese startups, particularly in the fields of: AI biomimetic development, healthtech, robotics automation, smart agriculture, deep-tech, and energy and climate (climate tech).

MSS Minister Han Seong-suk shared: “I hope COMEUP 2025 will become a space to initiate new collaborations and sow the seeds of innovation for the future.”

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/recode-the-future-comeup-2025-khai-mac-khang-dinh-vi-the-ky-lan-cong-nghe-moi-cua-han-quoc-post1082375.vnp