Hana Bank announced that on January 23, it held the AI Startup Accelerator 1st Demo Day event for promising AI startups at SK Telecom and Intercontinental Seoul COEX.
The demo day was held to commemorate the end of the development process of the 15 companies selected for the first AI Startup Accelerator program, which was launched by the two companies in July last year to provide a foothold for the growth of AI startup companies and share their value.
For the past six months, AI startup companies selected for the first phase of the AI Startup Accelerator have been provided with a total of 162 seats (430㎡) of office space and business infrastructure at SparkPlus Coex in Samseong-dong for free. The companies also received mentoring and investment reviews from Hana Financial, SK Telecom, and venture capitalists, business cooperation opportunities with Hana Financial and SK Telecom, various seminars and service OA, app performance verification support, and community activation.
Startup companies that participated in the event conducted various networking activities with related organizations and venture capitalists through individual booths in the venue, and also shared the results of their collaboration with Hana Bank and SK Telecom through relay pitching to attract investment.
"Hana Bank and SK Telecom, representing Korea's financial and telecommunications industries, are actively supporting AI startups to grow together through practical support that they need," said Jae-wook Chung, Head of Digital New Business Division at Hana Bank. "We will continue to realize social values such as building a financial and social safety net through cooperation with AI startups with creative technologies and ideas."
Meanwhile, Hana Bank and SK Telecom have been successfully operating their own startup growth support programs, such as SK Telecom True Innovation, for many years.
