HONGSEONG — Five small and medium-sized venture companies based in South Chungcheong Province have been selected for the "K-Defense Startup Development Program" run by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the provincial government said on the 9th. The selected companies are Wista, Green AI, Airbility, S Material and Tobe Unicorn.
The program identifies and supports early-stage startups in advanced defense fields (within seven years of founding) as well as small and medium-sized enterprises entering the defense industry for the first time.
Companies selected for the first stage will receive 150 million won in state funding over six months. During this period, they will establish growth roadmaps through defense industry training and customized consulting.
After subsequent evaluations, companies can advance to the second stage (500 million won over one year, with support for defense-conversion R&D) and the third stage (2.1 billion won over two years, with support for self-sufficiency and expansion). In total, the program provides up to 2.75 billion won over a maximum of three years and six months.
