Hyundai Asan Nanum Foundation Selects 12 New Startups for 'MARU' Residency
[Source: https://www.edaily.co.kr/News/Read?newsId=02023766639052920&mediaCodeNo=257&OutLnkChk=Y]
[E-Daily Reporter Kim Kyung-eun] The Hyundai Asan Nanum Foundation announced on the 14th that it has finalized the selection of 12 startup teams to join its entrepreneurship platform, "MARU," for the second half of this year.
The foundation held a workshop on November 11-12 in Incheon with the representatives of the startups selected for MARU's second-half residency program.
MARU, an incubator supporting startup growth, offers comprehensive solutions such as infrastructure, networks, and education necessary for entrepreneurship. Since its inception in April 2014 with "MARU180" in Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the platform expanded with "MARU360," which opened in November 2021. MARU serves as a hub for fostering entrepreneurship and revitalizing the startup ecosystem, collaborating with startups, domestic and international venture capital (VC), and accelerators.
For this second half of the year, the Asan Nanum Foundation selected the following 12 startups for MARU residency: Right, LeMon, Metel, V-Monster, Sotericx Korea, Allsale Corporation, Jetik AI, PowerTask, Fairy, FIT, HyperMind, and HOMI AI. Of these, 75% base their businesses on artificial intelligence (AI), developing services across diverse areas such as content creation, sales and operations management, workflow automation, and customer relationship management (CRM).
The selected startups will be housed in the "Growth Zones" at either MARU180 or MARU360. Over a maximum residency period of 18 months, they will receive a variety of benefits, including space and growth support. In addition to office space, they will have free access to all meeting rooms, lounges, showers, and nap rooms within MARU. Event halls in MARU180 and studios and seminar rooms in MARU360 are also available for free via membership.
MARU provides a range of programs and benefits to support startup growth. Through the "MARU Benefit" program, each team can receive up to KRW 600 million worth of annual benefits, including free or discounted access to services essential for startups such as cloud computing, recruitment, legal, and accounting support. The "MARU Connect" program offers one-on-one mentoring with over 70 industry experts and veteran entrepreneurs. Additionally, startups can participate in an IR matching program that connects them with domestic and international VCs and aids in attracting investments.
Moreover, MARU fosters interaction and communication among resident startups through regular town hall meetings, clubs, workshops, and various community programs. Additional opportunities, such as "Asan Leadership Coaching" to enhance the resilience of startup leaders and the "MARU Reboot" program to support productivity-boosting workcations, are also available upon application.
To welcome the new batch of 12 startups, the foundation hosted a "Pay It Forward Workshop" on November 11-12, allowing resident startup representatives to network and exchange ideas.
Cheon Sung-woo, Head of the Startup Team at Asan Nanum Foundation, stated, "Through the process of selecting new MARU residents, we encountered many startups taking on the challenge of entrepreneurship in various fields, even during difficult times. We will actively support our resident startups so they can freely challenge, grow, and share, leveraging MARU as a platform for entrepreneurship."
