Factory's Post 🇪🇺 #16

Factory's Post is back to deliver the insights you need for your business growth.💡 We've gathered the latest business trends, useful information for market entry, and hot news from the Korea-Europe ecosystem!

This month, we are sharing stories that reflect what we value most: practical execution, market access, and real momentum between Europe and Korea.

From a hands-on seminar in Frankfurt on German public funding and growth financing, to FUST Lab’s European debut at Analytica 2026 in Munich, this issue highlights how Korean tech companies are building meaningful traction in Europe, and why this matters for European stakeholders looking toward Korea and wider Asian markets.

Let’s dive into this month’s Europe–Korea innovation update. 🚀✨

✨ Practical Insights on Funding and Market Entry: Germany Policy & Financing Seminar in Frankfurt

Last month in Frankfurt, the CEO of 123 Factory led a session at the “Germany Policy & Financing Seminar for Korean Companies,” focusing on funding opportunities in Germany and Europe.

The seminar offered practical insights for Korean startups, SMEs, and mid-sized companies looking to build or expand their presence in Europe. Discussions went beyond general market-entry information and addressed real operational questions around financing, public funding, R&D support, and growth strategies.

A key takeaway was clear: entering Europe is not just about finding available programs, but about identifying which funding and support structures fit a company’s stage, goals, and market-entry strategy.

For European businesses interested in Korea, the seminar also highlighted a broader opportunity: Korea–Germany cooperation is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in areas such as innovation partnerships, R&D collaboration, and cross-border business expansion.

🔬 From Munich to Frankfurt: FUST Lab Begins Its European Journey

FUST Lab took its first step into the German market last month at Analytica and IFAT in Munich, where it introduced its new technologies Cavitox and Debrex to Europe for the first time. The launch marked a key milestone in the company’s European expansion, drawing attention for technologies that address both industrial performance and environmental challenges.

Debrex enables uniform nano-level material processing without surfactants, while Cavitox offers an eco-friendly water treatment solution for removing harmful substances such as PFAS. With this sustainability-focused technology portfolio, FUST Lab plans to use Germany as a strategic base for wider European growth.

As FUST Lab’s European market-entry partner, 123 Factory is supporting its local business development and market establishment. A new showroom in Frankfurt Industry Park is also in preparation, creating a future base for technology demonstration and European business expansion.

🏭 123 Factory at Hannover Messe!

123 Factory also joined this year’s Hannover Messe, exploring the European market potential of Cheil Electric and Iljoo G&S, anchor companies of Busan Techno Park. On site, we observed how key themes such as industrial AI, automation, energy infrastructure, and manufacturing digital transformation are being discussed in real industrial settings.

Cheil Electric, with its strengths in sensor and manufacturing-based technologies, has potential connections with European demand in smart manufacturing, facility monitoring, industrial safety, and energy management. Iljoo G&S focuses on AX, or AI Transformation, showing how manufacturing data can be used to improve operational efficiency, optimize processes, and automate decision-making.

🤖 Industrial AI and Digital Twins: The New Core of Manufacturing Transformation

One of the strongest themes at this year’s Hannover Messe was clearly Industrial AI. AI is no longer limited to R&D or office productivity. It is becoming a core engine of industrial operations, helping manufacturers control production lines, predict machine failures, reduce energy consumption, and manage supply chain risks. In the past, manufacturing competitiveness was largely driven by facility investment and production speed. Going forward, it will increasingly depend on how well companies can collect data, interpret it, and automate operational decisions through AI. 

This is why companies like Cheil Electric and Iljoo G&S hold strong potential in the European market. Both are connected to the growing demand for industrial AI and related technologies, where Europe is actively looking for practical solutions that can improve production efficiency, equipment monitoring, safety, energy management, and data-based decision-making. 

123 Factory will continue supporting Korean manufacturers and tech startups in finding the right partners within Europe’s industrial ecosystem and turning those connections into PoC and commercialization opportunities. If you’re interested in these opportunities, please contact us! ☎️

Investment

🇰🇷 Korea Opens the Door Wider: Up to €54,000 for Foreign Startups Ready to Land

Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has significantly scaled up its commitment to attracting international founders through its 2026 Global Startup Commercialisation Support Programme, which ran across March and April. This year's edition raises the maximum grant to KRW 80 million (approx. €54,000) per company — a substantial increase from previous rounds — and expands the total number of supported teams.

The programme is designed for foreign startups ready to commercialise in Korea, offering not just funding but structured market entry support. European founders with B2B deep tech, healthtech, or sustainability solutions are particularly well-positioned given Korea's demand in these verticals.

For European startups that have been eyeing Korea as a strategic Asia-Pacific beachhead, this is one of the most concrete entry mechanisms available right now.

Policy

🤝 German Industrial AI Meets Korean Manufacturing: AHK Korea Sees Real Synergy

The German-Korean Chamber of Commerce (AHK Korea) has spotlighted a compelling convergence: Germany's strength in Industrial AI — precision, reliability, and deep integration with manufacturing processes — aligns naturally with Korea's world-class production infrastructure and IT backbone. In an April 2026 interview, AHK Korea outlined concrete pathways for deepening tech exchange between the two ecosystems.

The framing is notably practical, moving beyond diplomatic language toward joint go-to-market strategies for deep tech and manufacturing startups. Both sides increasingly recognise that the real opportunity lies in co-development and cross-border pilot projects, not just trade.

The case for German-Korean industrial collaboration has never been better structured. For German startups in industrial automation, robotics, or AI-driven manufacturing, Korea is not just a market, it's a development partner.

🌍 Seoul Startup Hub Launches European PoC Programme — With 123 Factory on Board

Seoul Startup Hub closed applications in early April for its 2026 Global Expansion Programme, designed to take Korean startups beyond market research and into actual commercialisation in Europe. The programme goes hands-on: selected teams will be supported in running live Proof-of-Concept projects with European corporates and securing first customers on the ground.

Partnership quality here stands out. The programme has brought in HEC Paris as an acceleration partner and 123 Factory as the venture client specialist — two organisations with direct pipelines into European enterprise buyers and innovation units. This is structured access, not networking theatre.

For Korean startups with a B2B product ready for European validation, this is exactly the kind of structured bridge that shortens the path to market.

Market

🤖 Physical AI Moves Fast — Korea's Deep Tech Funding Hits Its Stride

Investment in Physical AI — autonomous systems that operate in the real world, from self-driving vehicles to service robots — is accelerating in Korea, and March's funding announcements made that unmistakably clear. Autonomous A2Z (self-driving) and XYZ Robotics (service robotics) both closed significant follow-on rounds last month, signalling that Korea's deep tech ecosystem has reached a stage where scaling capital is available, not just seed funding.

The shift from software AI to embodied, environment-interacting systems reflects a broader global trend, but Korea's combination of advanced semiconductor supply chains, robotics manufacturing capacity, and aggressive R&D investment gives it a structural advantage in this race.

For European deep tech founders and investors, Korea is increasingly worth tracking not just as a market, but as a source of hard-tech innovation and potential co-development partners. The lab-to-market gap is closing fast  and the companies closing it are raising real money.

Upcoming Events

• EPEK 2026
  24-26 Jun | Daegu, Korea | Electric Power, Energy, Smart Grid
  Korea’s largest electric power industry exhibition, covering energy, digital transformation, RE100, electric power technologies, smart grid, and practical business networking

• METAVERSE EXPO 2026
  17-19 Jun | Seoul, Korea | Metaverse, XR, Digital Twin, AI
  A business-focused expo for metaverse, XR, AI, spatial computing, Web3, and digital twin technologies across manufacturing, healthcare, education, entertainment, and public sectors

• Smart Tech Korea 2026
  10-12 Jun | Seoul, Korea | AI, Robotics, Security, Digital Transformation
  Korea’s leading future-tech business platform, showcasing next-generation technologies across AI, robotics, AI factory, security, digital retail/logistics, digital healthcare, quantum, and XR

Thank you for reading Factory’s Post!
We’re always open to exciting news, promotions, and proposals to share with the 123 community. Feel free to contact [email protected], we’d love to hear from you! 😀