South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the Innopolis Foundation held the 2026 Deep Tech Results Exchange on Sunday at Hotel ICC in Daejeon and shared deep tech startup and commercialisation results created in research and development zones.

The ministry unveiled a deep tech startup activation strategy. It set out key tasks including easing researchers' startup burdens, building demonstration infrastructure to convert technology into market value and fostering specialist institutions for deep tech investment and incubation. It said details will be released after consultations with relevant ministries.

The research and development zones have promoted technology commercialisation and startups based on research results from science and technology-focused universities and government-funded research institutes. Since their designation in 2005, the number of tenant companies rose to 15,671 in 2024 from 687, and revenue increased to 85.9 trillion won from 2.56 trillion won. The number of technology transfer cases expanded to 7,797 from 611.

About 200 people from industry, academia and research organisations, investment firms and deep tech companies attended the event. They discussed the deep tech investment ecosystem, public technology-based startups, initial public offerings and global expansion strategies.

At the venue, 35 top and promising companies from the research and development zones showcased innovative technologies and products. Participants included Sobagen, which achieved a $550 million technology export for an intractable epilepsy treatment, as well as Celiaz, a retinal regeneration therapy developer, Linsol, an acoustic-based drone detection company, and Nania Labs, an AI manufacturing design platform company.

First Vice Minister Hyeok-chae Koo (구혁채) of the ministry said he hoped the event would give researchers an opportunity to explore commercialisation and provide startup companies with growth opportunities. He said the ministry would expand support so that deep tech startups and technology commercialisation can lead to regional and national growth.