Uijeongbu city in Gyeonggi Province is accelerating efforts to build an innovation ecosystem that discovers local startups, validates their technologies, and connects them to public markets.
The city announced on the 19th that it signed a proof-of-concept (PoC) business agreement with Gangdan Studio Co. and Gyeonggi Content Agency at City Hall on the 17th. This agreement is a core pillar of the city's three-stage startup support system: "discovery-validation-commercialization."
Through the "Uijeongbu Innovation City Startup Challenge," the city selects promising companies and links them to PoC projects that validate technologies in administrative settings. Rather than simply providing subsidies, the city offers actual administrative environments as testbeds.
Gangdan Studio, the subject of this agreement, will build a system that automatically converts administrative materials into video and image content using AI generation technology. The company also plans to produce promotional content for regional industrial hubs including Yonghyeon Industrial Complex and the Free Economic Zone through an "AI Ambassador" in virtual human form.
The city is already producing results from its validation projects. Noilab, which won the grand prize at last year's Startup Challenge, is currently validating a dementia prevention solution using infrastructure at the Dementia Relief Center.
Uijeongbu Mayor Kim Dong-geun said, "This is significant in that we support substantial growth by applying startup technologies to actual administrative settings." He added, "We will contribute to building an innovation ecosystem by actively opening public resources and infrastructure."
