Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS) announced Wednesday that it has selected seven innovative companies as finalists in its 2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge, a competition aimed at promoting construction site safety culture.
The competition, held for the first time this year, was established through collaboration among the government, local authorities, and private construction companies to proactively introduce and verify innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) CCTV systems, construction robots, and safety training platforms at construction sites. A total of 110 startups and small-to-medium enterprises hoping to collaborate with Hyundai E&C applied for the program. Seven companies were selected across four categories following document screening, presentation evaluations, one-on-one meetups, and final assessments.
The selected companies by category are: Construction Partner in the Safety Innovation Technology category; Ncia in the Safety Equipment category; BeyondAR and Crabs in the Safety Culture category; and Muavemotion, Human and Space, and Pascal in the Health and Environment category.
The selected firms will jointly conduct proof-of-concept trials with Hyundai E&C's Safety and Quality Division for approximately three months from this month through June. Depending on pilot results, follow-up collaboration opportunities including expanded field application, procurement contracts, and investment reviews will be provided. Hyundai E&C plans to hold an "H-Safe Open Innovation Day" event in May to share collaboration outcomes.
Earlier in January, Hyundai E&C signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seoul Business Agency, Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, and Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology for joint discovery of construction safety innovative companies. Under the agreement, Hyundai E&C oversees competition planning and operations while the Seoul Business Agency and Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center handle commercialization and follow-up support.
Hyundai E&C has actively participated in open innovation programs since 2022. In 2025, the company has selected 48 startups through 15 programs and is pursuing various collaborations including technology verification and joint commercialization.
"This open innovation program was planned together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul Metropolitan Government," a Hyundai E&C official said. "We will lead construction safety culture by proactively introducing proven innovative safety technologies to our sites."