LG Electronics will spin off four in-house ventures into B2B startups in AI, robotics and advanced materials. LG Electronics said on April 27 it selected four teams for a final spin-off after holding a demo day for its in-house venture development programme Studio341. The event was held at Magok Science Park in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

The spin-offs include hardware design data error-detection AI solution Seka, corporate AI coding agent Machine Flow, kitchen automation robot and operations management solution Pre-Kitchen Lab, and fabless-based flame-retardant material design solution Atomer. All are teams with their own technological capabilities in the B2B sector.

They advanced to the finals in July last year after passing competition of about 12 to 1, and passed final screening after a professional development process. LG Electronics and officials from a startup incubation specialist and venture investment firms took part in the screening and evaluated business value, team composition and capabilities from multiple angles, it said. Each team will receive up to 400 million won in initial investment depending on the screening results and plans to complete the spin-off process in July.

Kang Sung-jin (강성진), LG Electronics head of partnerships, said, "As the era of physical AI arrives, a partnership ecosystem among companies with strengths in different technologies and solutions is becoming more important." He added, "We will spare no support so that all in-house ventures spun off through Studio341 can grow into reliable partners for LG Electronics."

LG Electronics will continue support for a period after the spin-off until the startups gain a foothold in the market. It also plans to seek mutual synergy in AI automation solutions, robots and advanced materials.

Studio341 is a programme launched in 2023 to find in-house ventures that will carry on the spirit of challenge and innovation from the founding of GoldStar, the predecessor of LG Electronics. The name comes from 341 Yeonji-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan, the first address of GoldStar. It works with Bluepoint Partners, a startup incubation specialist, from selection and development through the spin-off.