C-Lab Startups bring record-breaking 29 wins record of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards
Samsung successfully nurtured more than 500 startups and projects over the past five years
December 28th, 2022 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced it will be showcasing new innovative projects developed through its C-Lab program[1] at CES 2023. To the public, Samsung will unveil four exciting projects from C-Lab Inside, its in-house venture program, and eight startups supported by C-Lab Outside, the company’s startup acceleration program. Visitors can take a peek at the innovative projects at Eureka Park in Las Vegas, the U.S., the main exhibition space for numerous startups from around the world, from January 5 – 8. Samsung expects startups from C-Lab to engage the global market for their projects through CES, strengthen their business feasibility, and have meetings with potential investors.
C-Lab Inside: Metaverse and Lifestyle Projects from Samsung Employees Go on Show
Since 2016, Samsung has been exhibiting its C-Lab Inside projects at CES, and the upcoming projects for 2023 have been highly evaluated in terms of innovation, marketability and completeness among those currently being fostered in-house. And they are as follows:
- Meta-Running, a metaverse platform to learn proper running form
- Porkamix, a metaverse platform that provides an interactive concert experience
- Soom, a new meditation experience with real-time feedback
- Falette, a 3D digital transformation for home fabric products
C-Lab Outside: Startups Showcasing Robots, AI and More to Receive CES Spotlight
Created in October 2018, C-Lab Outside is a startup acceleration program launched to invigorate the startup ecosystem in Korea. Startups enrolled in the C-Lab Outside program are provided with office workspaces, expert mentoring from Samsung employees and digital marketing & financial consulting. Additional support includes potential partnerships with Samsung Electronics and opportunities to participate in influential IT exhibitions such as CES and KES (Korea Electronics Show).
For the past year, Samsung and the Daegu Center and the Gyeong-buk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, which are parts of C-Lab Outside, have been incubating these startups to develop their technology and be ready to meet the world at CES 2023. The eight chosen startups are:
- NdotLight, a web based 3D design solution
- NEUBILITY, an urban delivery service through self-driving robots
- 40FY, a digital mental health care app service from examination to treatment,
- CELLICO, a micro-bionic eye for patients with retinal disease
- Plask, an AI and browser-based motion capture and animation editing tool
- Wrn Technologies, writing training and content creation services using Generative AI
- Catius, a multi-turn conversational AI companion for children
- Erangtek, an IoT micro repeater for home users to improve call quality
C-Lab Startups Bring Record-Breaking 29 wins of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards
In November 2022, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) announced the winners of the CES 2023 Innovation Awards across 28 product categories, including Best of Innovation. Projects from the C-Lab startups received two Best of Innovation Awards, and 27 were named Innovation Awards Honorees. As a result, C-Lab took home 22 Innovation Awards in 2022 and seven more in 2023 for their standout technologies.
“It is a great pleasure to see that C-Lab startups have proven their technological prowess on the global stage, as evidenced by the most Innovation Awards ever at CES,” said Hark Kyu Park, President and Chief Financial Officer at Samsung Electronics. “We hope that C-Lab startups will be able to more actively target the global market and show the excellence of Korean startups.”
Notably, Dot Inc., which develops devices and software for the visually impaired, was named a CES 2022 Best of Innovation Award winner in the Accessibility category and also named two CES Innovation Awards Honorees. Verses, which developed the Meta Music System for streaming, was named a CES 2023 Best of Innovation Award winner in the Streaming category.
Seven of the eight startups to exhibit in the C-Lab booth – NEUBILITY, 40FY, NdotLight, CELLICO, Plask, Catius, Wrtn Technologies – won Innovation Awards
Additionally, seven spun-off startups from C-Lab Inside and 11 former C-Lab Outside startups won two Best of Innovation Awards and 20 Innovation Awards.
Samsung Has Achieved Its Goal of Nurturing 500 Startups and Projects over Five Years
In 2018, Samsung Electronics announced that it would accelerate 300 Korean startups through C-Lab Outside and 200 projects through C-Lab Inside over a five years. The company has nurtured a total of 506 startups and projects (304 from C-Lab Outside and 202 from C-Lab Inside) so far.
Samsung recently established C-Lab Family, a unique professional network through which alumni startups can continue to co-operate with Samsung even after graduating from C-Lab Outside or spun-off from C-Lab. It also created the C-Lab Scale-Up Committee and plans to gradually expand partnerships and investments for the C-Lab Family in the future.
