on april 27, lg electronics announced that four internal startups selected through its in-house incubation program, “studio341,” will operate as independent entities. recently, lg electronics held a studio341 demo day at the magok science park in seoul and identified four teams eligible for final spin-off. these teams will become b2b startups with strong capabilities in ai, robotics, and advanced materials, demonstrating their competitiveness across various industry applications.
the four selected startups are: seka, an ai solution for detecting hardware design data errors; machineflow, an enterprise-grade ai coding assistant designed to improve code quality; prekitchen lab, a kitchen automation robot and b2b operations management solution; and atomer, an advanced flame-retardant material design solution based on a fabless business model. they entered the final selection round last july with a competition ratio of about 12 to 1, received expert mentorship, and successfully passed the final evaluation. the review panel included representatives from lg electronics, specialized startup incubation firms, and venture capital institutions, who assessed the teams’ competitiveness from multiple angles, including business value, team composition, and capabilities.
based on the evaluation results, each team will receive initial funding of up to krw 400 million, and the spin-off process is expected to be completed by july this year. lg electronics stated that even after the spin-off, it will continue to provide the necessary support to help these startups establish themselves in the market and pursue synergies in the fields of ai-driven automation solutions, robotics, and advanced materials.
the studio341 program was launched in 2023 with the aim of identifying internal entrepreneurial projects that can carry forward the pioneering spirit and innovative drive of lg’s early days. the name “studio341” is derived from lg’s first address—341 yeonjido-dong, busan-jin district, busan city. throughout the entire process, from selection and incubation to spin-off, the program works closely with bluepoint partners, a specialist startup incubation firm.
in 2024, the first startups spun off under this program have already been selected for the ministry of smes and startups’ technology-based startup support programs tips and dips, rapidly growing in areas such as ai, robotics, materials, and platforms, with their business outcomes and technical capabilities receiving widespread recognition. since last year, the program has also expanded to include open innovation collaborations with external startups that offer innovative customer experience solutions.
kang sung-jin, head of corporate partnerships at lg electronics, said: “with the advent of the physical ai era, a collaborative ecosystem among companies with diverse technological strengths and solution offerings is becoming increasingly important. we will spare no effort in supporting the internal startups spun off through studio341, helping them all grow into solid partners of lg electronics.”
