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Korea Early-Stage Startup Package

The 2026 general route provides commercialisation grants up to KRW 100 million, averaging about KRW 50 million. The separate deep-tech route reaches KRW 150 million and averaged about KRW 130 million; a later investment-linked Startup City route reached KRW 100 million. Company cost-sharing varies by region, with government support normally up to 70% and reduced applicant shares for eligible non-capital regions. · Korea SMEs and Startups Agency / KISED

Korea Early-Stage Startup Package is a grant programme from Korea SMEs and Startups Agency / KISED for Startups incorporated in South Korea and generally within three years of founding, subject to the current notice Current lifecycle: closed. Real economics: The 2026 general route provides commercialisation grants up to KRW 100 million, averaging about KRW 50 million. The separate deep-tech route reaches KRW 150 million and averaged about KRW 130 million; a later investment-linked Startup City route reached KRW 100 million. Company cost-sharing varies by region, with government support normally up to 70% and reduced applicant shares for eligible non-capital regions..

Tier 3governmentsouth-koreagrantnon-dilutive

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Key facts

FunderKorea SMEs and Startups Agency / KISED
AmountThe 2026 general route provides commercialisation grants up to KRW 100 million, averaging about KRW 50 million. The separate deep-tech route reaches KRW 150 million and averaged about KRW 130 million; a later investment-linked Startup City route reached KRW 100 million. Company cost-sharing varies by region, with government support normally up to 70% and reduced applicant shares for eligible non-capital regions.
Decision timeThe general call uses written review, an in-depth interview and presentation before final verification and selection. K-Startup publishes result notices, but the reviewed official material does not state a dependable end-to-end decision interval.
EligibilityA Korean startup generally no more than three years old at the notice cutoff, with every representative meeting the startup-age rule and no disqualifying arrears, debt, prohibited-sector activity, duplicate government commercialisation support or prior programme history. Deep-tech and investment-linked calls add technology, investment, location or relocation conditions; those track terms do not automatically apply to the general route.
RestrictionsRecipients contribute the required cash/in-kind share, use the integrated startup-support account and approved budget, document commercialisation expenses, attend required mentoring and evaluations, obtain approval for material changes, and complete interim/final reports and settlement. Agreement, business-continuity and multi-year outcome-information duties apply; false statements, misuse or duplicate support can lead to cancellation and recovery. Approved commercialisation costs may include materials and data, outsourced services, equipment and software, IP filing or acquisition, eligible labour, rent, travel, certification, customer validation and marketing. Pre-agreement, unrelated, unsupported, duplicate-funded and prohibited spending is excluded. Patent costs are eligible, but the public call corpus does not state a complete universal ownership or licensing rule.
Statusclosed

Always confirm on the official page before applying — dates and terms change.

Application process

  1. Choose the general, deep-tech or investment-linked call whose technology, location and financing rules fit
  2. Select the eligible supervising organisation and submit the K-Startup application, business plan, budget and declarations
  3. Pass company-age, representation, startup-status, debt, tax, prior-support and duplicate-support checks
  4. Undergo written evaluation of problem, feasibility, growth strategy, team and programme fit
  5. Complete the general route's in-depth interview or other track-specific evaluation
  6. Present to the evaluation panel
  7. Pass final evidence checks, ranking and notification
  8. Sign the electronic agreement and deposit the required company contribution
  9. Execute the approved commercialisation plan with programme and mentoring support
  10. Submit expense, progress, outcome and final-settlement evidence and maintain post-award records

Background

Korea SMEs and Startups Agency / KISED operates Korea Early-Stage Startup Package. This pass separates direct cash, repayable finance, credits, incentives and umbrella programs so later ranking does not compare unlike instruments. The 2026 plan allocated 400 general-route and 100 deep-tech Early-Stage Startup Package places The general grant averaged about KRW 50 million, while the deep-tech route averaged about KRW 130 million The separate 2026 investment-linked Startup City call planned another 68 early-stage companies across participating cities

How the application really works

Choose the general, deep-tech or investment-linked call whose technology, location and financing rules fit → Select the eligible supervising organisation and submit the K-Startup application, business plan, budget and declarations → Pass company-age, representation, startup-status, debt, tax, prior-support and duplicate-support checks → Undergo written evaluation of problem, feasibility, growth strategy, team and programme fit → Complete the general route's in-depth interview or other track-specific evaluation → Present to the evaluation panel → Pass final evidence checks, ranking and notification → Sign the electronic agreement and deposit the required company contribution → Execute the approved commercialisation plan with programme and mentoring support → Submit expense, progress, outcome and final-settlement evidence and maintain post-award records

Tips

Watch out for

Track record

The 2026 plan provided 400 general and 100 deep-tech places, and the later investment-linked Startup City call planned 68 early-stage places. No official combined application denominator or realised package-wide acceptance rate was found.

Frequently asked questions

Is this actionable now?
closed. The 2026 general Early-Stage Startup Package accepted applications from 23 January through 13 February at 16:00 KST and is closed. Separate deep-tech and investment-linked tracks also closed earlier in 2026; no later current call was verified, so the package is annual and multi-track rather than rolling.
What is the real economic value?
The 2026 general route provides commercialisation grants up to KRW 100 million, averaging about KRW 50 million. The separate deep-tech route reaches KRW 150 million and averaged about KRW 130 million; a later investment-linked Startup City route reached KRW 100 million. Company cost-sharing varies by region, with government support normally up to 70% and reduced applicant shares for eligible non-capital regions.
Who is eligible?
A Korean startup generally no more than three years old at the notice cutoff, with every representative meeting the startup-age rule and no disqualifying arrears, debt, prohibited-sector activity, duplicate government commercialisation support or prior programme history. Deep-tech and investment-linked calls add technology, investment, location or relocation conditions; those track terms do not automatically apply to the general route.
How does selection work?
Choose the general, deep-tech or investment-linked call whose technology, location and financing rules fit; Select the eligible supervising organisation and submit the K-Startup application, business plan, budget and declarations; Pass company-age, representation, startup-status, debt, tax, prior-support and duplicate-support checks; Undergo written evaluation of problem, feasibility, growth strategy, team and programme fit; Complete the general route's in-depth interview or other track-specific evaluation; Present to the evaluation panel; Pass final evidence checks, ranking and notification; Sign the electronic agreement and deposit the required company contribution; Execute the approved commercialisation plan with programme and mentoring support; Submit expense, progress, outcome and final-settlement evidence and maintain post-award records. The general call uses written review, an in-depth interview and presentation before final verification and selection. K-Startup publishes result notices, but the reviewed official material does not state a dependable end-to-end decision interval.
What burden and restrictions apply?
Recipients contribute the required cash/in-kind share, use the integrated startup-support account and approved budget, document commercialisation expenses, attend required mentoring and evaluations, obtain approval for material changes, and complete interim/final reports and settlement. Agreement, business-continuity and multi-year outcome-information duties apply; false statements, misuse or duplicate support can lead to cancellation and recovery. Approved commercialisation costs may include materials and data, outsourced services, equipment and software, IP filing or acquisition, eligible labour, rent, travel, certification, customer validation and marketing. Pre-agreement, unrelated, unsupported, duplicate-funded and prohibited spending is excluded. Patent costs are eligible, but the public call corpus does not state a complete universal ownership or licensing rule.
What evidence exists?
The 2026 plan allocated 400 general-route and 100 deep-tech Early-Stage Startup Package places The general grant averaged about KRW 50 million, while the deep-tech route averaged about KRW 130 million The separate 2026 investment-linked Startup City call planned another 68 early-stage companies across participating cities The 2026 plan provided 400 general and 100 deep-tech places, and the later investment-linked Startup City call planned 68 early-stage places. No official combined application denominator or realised package-wide acceptance rate was found.

Related grants

Korea Pre-Startup PackageThe 2026 package provides non-repayable commercialisation funding up to KRW 80 million per prospective founder. The revised call planned about 300 selections, generally around KRW 40 million each, with an initial KRW 20 million stage and additional funding for founders that pass the interim stage evaluation; the ceiling is not an automatic award. · Korea SMEs and Startups Agency / KISEDKorea Startup Leap PackageThe 2026 general route provides commercialisation grants up to KRW 200 million, averaging about KRW 120 million. The separate deep-tech route reaches KRW 300 million, and the later investment-linked Startup City route reaches KRW 200 million. Company co-funding varies by region; the standard structure funds up to 70%, with reduced applicant shares for eligible non-capital regions. · Korea Ministry of SMEs and Startups / KISED1517 Fund Medici Micro-Grant$1,000 or more; the official route does not publish a universal maximum · 1517 FundNat Friedman & Daniel Gross Grants (AI Grant)USD 250,000 maximum; see notes for structure · Nat Friedman & Daniel GrossAnthropic Startup ProgramAnthropic may provide API credits and other program benefits; the current official terms publish no universal numeric benefit value. · AnthropicAnthropic Fellows Program (AI Safety)$3,850 USD, £2,310 GBP or $4,300 CAD per week, plus approximately $15,000 per month of compute; the official source does not publish a guaranteed total stipend · Anthropic

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