Google Play will work with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development to select 100 promising mobile application and game startups and support their customised growth.

Google Play said on May 18 it has completed the selection of 100 companies to take part in the eighth round of the Changgu program, which supports the growth and overseas expansion of South Korean startups.

The Changgu program is an annual support initiative that selects mobile application and game startups and helps them grow their businesses. Google, the ministry and the institute made the final selection of 100 companies based on criteria including content quality, innovation and potential for global expansion.

In the eighth round, applications that incorporate the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence in categories including education, lifestyle, games and health drew attention. Examples include an ultra-low-cost English learning app, Ssadaboca, which uses the Gemini application programming interface, the real-time reasoning game Guigu Saljeon set against the backdrop of Korea’s traditional afterlife view, and the AI-based emotion journaling app Mymory.

Now in its eighth year, the Changgu program has had a cumulative 660 startups participate through the seventh round since its launch in 2019. The 100 companies that took part in last year’s seventh round posted combined results during the program period from May to December, including about a 70 percent rise in aggregated sales from 30.05 billion won to 51.69 billion won year on year, about a 90 percent increase in exports from 2.83 billion won to 5.4 billion won, and about a 53 percent rise in downloads from 5.48 million to 8.39 million.

Google Play plans to provide selected eighth-round startups with seminars, one-on-one in-depth consulting, networking events, venture capital office hours and cloud credits. It also plans to expand specialised programs so companies using AI technologies can apply the latest AI tools to their businesses.

Yoon Goo (윤구), president of Google Korea, said he hopes Changgu will serve as a growth momentum that can expand beyond the domestic market to a broader global stage, adding that Google will work to help participating companies upgrade their services and expand their markets.