South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT said on March 17 it will recruit companies from that day to April 15 to take part in its 2026 Digital Content Company Competitiveness Enhancement programme. The programme supports overseas expansion by digital content companies using extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.

The support will cover three areas: developing 15 export-promising small but strong companies; promotion, marketing and export contract support for 14 companies; and support for participation in overseas exhibitions. For overseas exhibitions, it will select 7 companies each for CommunicAsia in Singapore in May, the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in the United States in June, and XR Fair Tokyo in Japan in November, and support meetings with local demand-side partners. Total support will amount to 4.2 billion won for 50 companies.

Companies that participated in the programme last year recorded total revenue of $14 million and signed 36 agreements and letters of intent (LOIs). Studio Ion signed an $800,000 contract with a U.S. production company for its AI video production solution. YourRound signed $800,000 in export contracts in Thailand and Vietnam. Surgical Mind secured a $1.2 million contract with medical institutions in China and Thailand for its XR-based medical training simulator.

Nam Cheol-gi (남철기), director general for software policy at the ministry, said, "As AI technology is being applied to XR and digital twins, market changes are accelerating." He added, "We will actively support competitive domestic companies so they can succeed in entering overseas markets."