Science ministry selects 14 teams in deep-tech startup contest

South Korea's science ministry said Wednesday it selected 14 teams in its 2026 Science and Technology Startup Competition.

A record 279 teams applied from April 15 to May 20, including 196 prospective-startup teams and 83 startup-track companies. Written and presentation assessments narrowed the field to 30 finalists, evenly split between the tracks, before judges selected seven winners from each.

The fourth-year contest targets prospective founders and companies less than three years old based on public research results from universities and government-funded research institutes.

Nano Aqua Shield won the prospective-startup track's grand prize for a waterproof textile-coating spray. The ministry said the product, which uses superhydrophobic nanoparticles without PFAS chemicals, was highly rated for addressing the performance and durability limits of existing waterproof materials and had been verified through multiple proofs of concept.

Float Bio won the startup-track grand prize for BLOOM, a noninvasive platform to diagnose bladder cancer. The platform uses enzyme biomarkers and dual-layer technology to diagnose early bladder cancer without sample pretreatment, and the ministry cited its accuracy and price competitiveness.

The 14 award-winning teams will share 52 million won in prize money. The ministry will also offer consulting and help teams seek investment.

The seven winning startup-track teams will advance to the combined finals of the K-Startup of the Year 2026 contest, involving nine ministries. Last year, all six teams that advanced from this event to the 2025 Challenge K-Startup competition won awards.

"We hope research achievements by young researchers at universities and government-funded institutes will lead to deep-tech startups and become a national growth engine. We will play the role of a dependable supporter so researchers can boldly take on entrepreneurship without fearing failure," Kim Seong-su, the science ministry's research and development policy director, said.