KOSA to Scout AI Firms for New York Entry Year-Round; Accepts Pre-Applications for AIIA
TECHWORLD ·
✦ AI Summary
KOSA said it will accept pre-applications year-round from domestic AI and digital companies interested in joining the 'AI Innovation Accelerator (AIIA).' The program is aimed at companies preparing to enter the U.S. East Coast market, and even before the formal notice is posted, applicants can submit information on whether they have established a U.S. subsidiary, local customers, references, funding stage, and areas of interest. AIIA is a program run by the Ministry of Science and ICT, NIPA, and NYU's Stern School of Business, and it operates with 20 companies in the first stage and 5 in the second stage.
The Korea Software Industry Association (KOSA) announced that it will accept pre-applications year-round from domestic AI and digital companies interested in taking part in the 'AI Innovation Accelerator (AIIA).' The program is aimed at companies preparing to enter the U.S. East Coast market. This pre-application process is intended to confirm companies' readiness for U.S. expansion and their willingness to participate before the formal recruitment notice is issued.
Accordingly, companies can submit information on whether they have established a U.S. subsidiary, along with local customers, references, funding stage, and areas of interest, even before the formal announcement. Companies that apply in advance will receive priority guidance on the upcoming schedule and eligibility requirements.
Previously, participants were recruited only for a set period after the recruitment notice was released. With this change, applications are now accepted year-round as pre-applications. KOSA said it changed the recruitment method so that companies preparing to enter the U.S. can review program information and prepare for formal applications regardless of when the notice is posted.
AIIA is a joint program run by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), and the Stern School of Business at New York University (NYU). The program aims to support domestic AI and digital companies' entry into the U.S. East Coast market and was launched as a follow-up project to the Korea-U.S. AI and digital business partnership memorandum of understanding signed in 2023. The project began last year, with NIPA overseeing the initiative and KOSA handling company recruitment and operations.
The program is run in two stages, depending on how prepared a company is for local expansion. The first stage runs for 7 weeks with 20 companies and consists of online preparatory training and an on-site workshop in New York. During this process, participating companies learn about U.S. customer and market analysis, legal, intellectual property and data security regulations, and sales and investment pitching strategies, and produce a pitch deck for the U.S. market and an expansion roadmap as deliverables.
In the second stage, 5 companies from the core program participate and join an additional 8-week mentorship program. Support is provided by a dedicated advisory group made up of mentors, consultants, and MBA fellows from NYU. In this stage, companies carry out activities such as visiting local firms, meeting investors, and taking part in demo days, with the goal of identifying contracts and partnerships.
To help participating companies establish themselves in the U.S. market, the program supports local-market localization costs and provides office space at the 'Global AI Frontier Lab,' which is operated by the IITP. The 'Global AI Frontier Lab' is located at NYU, and the office space is provided to support local business activities.
In the first year, 20 companies took part in the program. KOSA said participants achieved results including exports to the U.S., investment attraction, paid contracts, memorandums of understanding (MOU), proof of concept (PoC), and the establishment of local subsidiaries.
This year, 20 companies are participating in the core program and 5 in the mentorship program. At a demo day held on the 23rd local time at NYU's Stern School of Business for local investors and partner companies, participating firms presented their business achievements and plans for entering the U.S. market.
Eligible pre-applicants are domestic corporations in the AI and AI applications sectors that are seeking to enter the U.S. East Coast market. Priority criteria include companies with commercialized products or services and firms with concrete plans for entering the U.S. KOSA said selection based on these criteria would increase the program's effectiveness.
A pre-application alone does not guarantee selection as a participating company, and the pre-application is only a preliminary submission before formal selection, not a confirmed acceptance stage. The actual selection process for the 2027 participants will take place after the formal recruitment notice through a separate application and evaluation process, and the recruitment notice for 2027 participants is scheduled to be posted early next year.
Pre-applications are accepted at any time, and applications can be submitted through the overseas expansion support menu on the KOSA website. KOSA plans to pursue year-round submissions to identify domestic AI companies preparing to enter the U.S. market in advance and then link those pre-identified companies with the formal program.
Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=408986
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Source: TECHWORLD
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