Samsung Electronics put 30 startups it incubated for a year in front of investors and industry. Samsung Electronics said it held the "2026 C-Lab Startup Demo Day" on Monday at its Seoul R&D Campus in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Companies from the eighth cohort of "C-Lab Outside" nurtured at bases in Seoul, Daegu, North Gyeongsang and Gwangju took part and showcased their technologies.

Six companies from the eighth cohort presented their businesses and cooperation cases on stage. They included Config Intelligence, which develops data technology for robot AI training and deployment, Piaspace, a multimodal AI company that analyzes language and video at the same time, and NanoForge AI, which automates new materials design and synthesis with AI. NanoForge AI introduced a proof-of-concept case for new materials development technology verification under way with Samsung Electronics. Of the eighth cohort, 15 companies have entered technology verification.

Samsung Electronics has been directly identifying promising local startups since 2023, with bases in Daegu, North Gyeongsang and Gwangju. Of the 30 companies in the eighth cohort, 12 are regionally nurtured companies. Piaspace, from the Daegu base, received development and quality advice through consulting linked to the Mutual Growth Cooperation Academy and fleshed out its business strategy through the Samsung Human Resources Development Institute's creative problem-solving program "CPS".

The venue also included an exhibition space where visitors could experience products and services from the 30 companies. Ransik, which coaches diets by using AI to analyze continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data, demonstrated a service that predicts and shows changes in blood sugar levels after intake when users take photos of food. Ransik also participated this year in Samsung Electronics' exhibition hall at Paris' Viva Technology. Samsung Electronics is also supporting participation in global exhibitions such as CES.

C-Lab started in December 2012 as the in-house venture program "C-Lab Inside" and expanded its scope to include a spin-off system in 2015 and "C-Lab Outside" for external startups in 2018. In total, it has discovered and nurtured 1,000 in-house ventures and startups. Selected companies receive up to 100 million won in support funding and workspace without equity acquisition, and after the program ends, they continue investment and cooperation through the "C-Lab Family" system.

Park Seung-hee (박승희), president of Samsung Electronics' CR office, said C-Lab has contributed to revitalizing South Korea's startup ecosystem based on Samsung's philosophy of growing together and co-prospering. He said the company would continue to join hands with the government, the National Assembly, local governments and regional innovation institutions to serve as a foothold for startups to grow bigger and as a partner in pioneering the future together.