SPC/IPC Application

 Call for Participation: Startup Pitch Competition and Idea Pitch Competition at IES 2025

 The Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) cordially invites you to the 7th Innovation and Entrepreneurship Symposium (IES), scheduled for August 7-9, 2025, at the Omni Atlanta Hotel, Atlanta, GA. This premier symposium aims to bridge entrepreneurial communities from the US and Korea, fostering unparalleled networking opportunities. The IES Demo session offers startups a unique platform to exhibit their innovations to UKC attendees, with the prospect of progressing to the Startup Pitch Competition (SPC)—the symposium’s pinnacle event. Here, startups vie for a cash prize by pitching to potential investors and industry veterans. Additionally, the Idea Pitch Competition (IPC) beckons early-stage startups and aspiring entrepreneurs to present their concepts, garnering invaluable feedback frominvestors. The IPC is an excellent avenue for networking with potential collaborators and seed investors, alongside competing for cash awards.The symposium is replete with diverse networking events, connecting attendees with investors, established entrepreneurs, funding agencies, andspecialists in legal and financial domains. We warmly welcome all professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit to join us at the IES and delve into the burgeoning cross-border business vistas between the US and Korea.

Selected Benefits to Invited Companies

• 1:1 meeting with a matched IES mentors including venture capitalists

• $300 discount on UKC 2024 registration

• Booth presentation during the entire IES and UKC 2024 periods to those who are invited - investors, technologists, industry veterans, UKC 2024 participants

• Networking events with investors and potential partners

• Scale-up opportunities through partnership with KSEA and its affiliated professional societies

How To Apply

Interested? We’d love to see you pitch! We request all applicants to submit a short video (video link) that gives us a sense of who you are and how your solution would be propelling the future of the world. Video submissions should cover the following points in less than 5 minutes:

• Your startup’s value proposition

• Problem(s) your product and/or service is solving

• Why your startup is a good fit for the KSEA StartUp Pitch Competition

Eligibility

Eligible startups must meet the following criteria as of July 28, 2025:

• Have not received more than US$7.0 million in diluted funding

• (Category 1 - Idea: US $200K, Category 2 – Startup & W-Startup: US $7.0M)

• Are less than 7 years old

Timeline (11:59 PM in US Pacific Daylight Time)

• Application due                    June 20th, 2025

• Invitee notification                    June 23th, 2025

• Idea Pitch competition          August 6th, 2025

• Startup Demo                       August 6th, 2025

• Startup Pitch Competition August 7th, 2025

• Winners announcement       August 8 th, 2025

How to Win

• Competition Finalists are expected to prepare a presentation showcasing the company’s innovative solution, idea, and/or technology. Finalists will pitch in English or Korean.

• Each pitch will be timed to 5 minutes. At the end of the pitch, the panel of judges will be given additional 3 minutes for Q&A (up to three questions).

• Finalists will be assessed by a dedicated panel of judges consisting of acclaimed investors and industry professionals, and the results will be announced at the Award Ceremony & Closing Session on the same day.