The Korean national brand has been gaining traction globally through the growth of hallyu, food and technology. Now, Korean startups are more determined than ever to make their mark on the global tech landscape and are attracting global attention from investors and customers resulting in one of the largest startup booms there ever.
BeGLOBAL is a global tech conference produced by the organizers of beLAUNCH and beGLOBAL Seoul, the top tech and startup conference held annually in Seoul. With the same determined goal of connecting startups East and West, the “beGLOBAL SF 2015” conference was held at The Village in San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 15 with VC officials and IT professionals. About 20 startups and 36 speakers participated at the event with a vast networking opportunity with venture business inventors and investors.
In the highlight of the conference’s startup pitches, nine startups explained their business plan in front of distinguished, venture capitalists. ‘RippleBuds’, a hardware/software solution that allows clear communication over a smart device in regardless of external noise conditions through accurately sensing and using vibrations in the ear, were the winners after an intense competition. If this product successfully reaches its goal, communicating over the phone will not be a problem anymore no matter where you are.
Another startup called ‘Neofect’ invented a smart rehabilitation glove called RAPAEL, a medical device for chronic stroke patients’ arm muscle function development, and had won the honor prize. The prize included an opportunity to use a complimentary business space ‘Runway Co-working Community,’ located at the Twitter headquarters for two months.
The nine startup enterprises is said to have received an average of 1 million USD, regardless of winning a prize or not. “BeGLOBAL has been hosting its conference twice a year in Korea and San Francisco since 2013. Through our global events in Seoul and Silicon Valley, we are bringing together the global entrepreneurship community to learn from each other and build successful partnerships,” said James Jung, CEO of beSUCCESS.
