Dunamu is joining hands with Seoul National University's business school to foster young startups. It plans to provide early-stage startups with office space and management mentoring to help lay the groundwork for growth.

Dunamu, which operates the digital asset exchange Upbit, said on Sept. 14 it opened a youth startup support space called the SNU x UPbit Startup Studio and held a welcome day event on Sept. 10.

The resident companies are seven firms selected through screening: Breadcrumb, Steelcut, Iruri Labs, Velly Labs, Thetaone Korea, Pion and Leadaxi.

The companies are pursuing businesses across areas including deepfake detection, medical artificial intelligence, insomnia improvement and education AX solutions.

On the day, Dunamu Chairman Sirgoo Lee (송치형), as a senior entrepreneur, listened to business introductions by the resident companies and took questions from prospective and early-stage founders.

Dunamu will provide startup infrastructure free of charge to resident companies together with Seoul National University to support youth and talent growth, one of its key ESG keywords. Resident companies can use dedicated offices, shared spaces and work equipment for up to 2 years.

It will also run a Value UP program to support company growth. It plans to provide expert mentoring in legal, finance, accounting, security and marketing, as well as CEO roundtables.

Lee said, "In the early stages of entrepreneurship, the process itself of enduring big and small successes and failures and producing results is the greatest asset," adding, "I will fully play the role of pacemaker so that startups leading South Korea's innovation can achieve sustainable growth."