Breaking the Heat Barrier: AI Chip Cooling Pioneering the Pet-Tech Frontier: GDIN host the 19th IR Day |
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On March 27, GDIN hosted the 19th Pet Industry IR Day at the Pangyo Startup Campus. Organized as part of the Pet Industry Development Council (launched in 2024), the session brought together domestic VCs and industry stakeholders to evaluate the technical readiness and business viability of participating startups.
Since the council’s inception, GDIN has identified over 30 companies in the pet-tech sector, facilitating approximately KRW 2 billion in cumulative investment from domestic VCs.
The latest session highlighted significant global business milestones and technical advancements in regenerative medicine and antibody therapeutics.
- MetaDx Laboratory: Reported significant business expansion in Southeast Asia. With GDIN’s strategic support, the company successfully established a Joint Venture (JV) in Thailand, marking a key milestone in its global market entry. The JV is currently generating tangible business outcomes by deploying its AI-assisted veterinary diagnostic solutions—'CancerVET' for early cancer detection and 'VitalVET' for real-time anesthesia risk prediction—across major veterinary clinics in the Thai market.
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StemExOne: Presented a 4D biomimetic hemodynamic culture platform. The technology focuses on increasing the production efficiency of stem cell-derived exosomes by 20-fold compared to conventional methods, aiming for mass production of high-purity exosomes for chronic inflammation and regenerative therapy.
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GeoVista: Introduced a specialized Pet Antibody Therapeutics Platform. Targeting intractable conditions such as atopic dermatitis and osteoarthritis, the company is currently moving forward with clinical entry and commercialization of three major pipelines within 2026.
GDIN will continue to support the technical validation and international market entry of deep-tech companies within the pet industry through its ongoing global partnership frameworks.
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Call for Applications: 2026 Global PoC Program for AX/DX Innovators |
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GDIN has officially opened applications for the "2026 AI & Digital Transformation Global PoC Support Program." This initiative is designed to assist Korean SMEs with advanced technological solutions in conducting on-site technical validation (Proof of Concept) and establishing a market presence in international territories.
Recognizing that many tech-driven SMEs face barriers due to high overseas validation costs and limited local networks, the 2026 program is structured into two distinct tracks to maximize practical support: the Demand-Driven Track, which matches companies with pre-identified global needs, and the Proposal-Driven Track, which allows companies to propose their own validation models.
Program Overview & Support Details
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Focus Sectors: Edu-tech, Ag-tech, Digital Healthcare, and Digital Manufacturing.
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Scale of Support: A total of 20 companies (10 for the Demand-Driven Track, 10 for the Proposal-Driven Track).
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Funding: Up to KRW 100 million for the Demand-Driven Track and up to KRW 130 million for the Proposal-Driven Track.
Beyond financial subsidies, GDIN will utilize its global network to provide "full-stack" support, ranging from matching with overseas demand partners to facilitating Minimum Viable Product (MVP) testing.
Application Information
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Deadline: Sunday, April 12, 2026
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How to Apply: Online submission via the GDIN Official Website
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Nearthlab: On March 24, at the AUSA Global Force 2026 symposium in Alabama, the drone solution provider signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with U.S. defense firm MSI Defense Solutions. Under this agreement, Nearthlab’s high-speed autonomous interceptor drone, 'KAiDEN,' will be integrated into MSI’s 'EAGLS' counter-UAS system. KAiDEN is capable of speeds exceeding 250 km/h and will perform "hard-kill" missions to physically neutralize hostile drone threats within the modular EAGLS architecture.
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CrossHub: During the RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco, the AI-based cybersecurity specialist signed a supply agreement with European security firm Cyberette. Through this partnership, CrossHub will supply advanced security solutions to the Dutch government. The initial contract is valued at approximately EUR 500,000, with plans to gradually expand the supply volume annually as part of the company's broader expansion into European markets.
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Telepix: The space AI comprehensive solution firm has secured KRW 15 billion in Pre-IPO funding from Intervest. Following a satellite export contract signed in Europe this past February, the new capital will be utilized to expand production facilities and R&D for satellite mass production. Having already passed the technical evaluation for a technology-special listing, Telepix is currently preparing for a KOSDAQ listing scheduled for the second half of this year.
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LabnPeople: The biotechnology firm specializing in bioactive materials has successfully entered the major U.S. retailer Target with its microneedle patch products developed via the Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) model. The company's patented technology utilizes bioactive magnesium, an essential human mineral, which ionizes upon contact with skin moisture to effectively deliver active ingredients deep into the skin to treat acne and other dermatological concerns.
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Solving the Thermal Bottlenecks of AI Computing |
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As AI computational workloads explode, global data centers and devices are facing a critical "war on heat." Without efficient thermal management, even the most powerful processors suffer from Throttling, a self-preservation mechanism where chips intentionally slow down to prevent permanent damage.
While Silicon Valley’s Frore Systems recently secured $140 million in funding to scale its "Solid-state cooling" and new semiconductor-style liquid coldplates, a Korean startup is setting new global benchmarks for extreme high-density cooling.
🇰🇷 Spotlight: KoolMicro – Breaking the 2,000 W/cm² Barrier
Founded by thermal management experts from Georgia Tech, KAIST, and Samsung Electronics, KoolMicro is gaining international attention for its Integrated Manifold MicroChannel (IMMC) technology.
Unlike traditional cooling methods that treat a GPU as a uniform heat source, KoolMicro’s solution creates a high-precision liquid cooling path directly inside the chip's architecture.
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The IMMC Advantage: Traditional liquid cooling allows water to flow horizontally across a surface, often resulting in temperature gradients. KoolMicro uses a 3D manifold structure where coolant passes vertically through microchannels at the shortest possible distance. This reduces "pumping power" (the energy needed to move liquid) while delivering 8x the cooling performance of conventional liquid systems.
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World-Class Cooling Density: KoolMicro has demonstrated the ability to manage heat fluxes of up to 2,000 W/cm². To put this in perspective, this is nearly 20x the heat density found on the surface of a nuclear reactor core, allowing next-generation AI accelerators to run at peak performance without thermal degradation.
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Strategic Roadmap: Following its successful showcase at CES 2026 and GTC 2026, KoolMicro is rolling out its product line through 2028, moving from external coldplates (IMMC-1) to advanced package-level integration (IMMC-3) designed for future wafer-level AI clusters.
📈 Market Outlook: A $30 Billion Infrastructure Essential
According to MarketsandMarkets, the global data center cooling market is projected to reach approximately $30 billion by 2030. As hyperscalers like Microsoft and AWS transition toward 100 GW AI factories, liquid cooling is no longer an "option" but a foundational requirement.
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Decoding Korean Innovation |
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'Startup for All: Korea's New Blueprint for Growth |
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The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) has unveiled "Startup for All," a nationwide initiative shifting Korea’s entrepreneurship policy from a "selective competition" model to a "distributed participation" model.
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Massive Scale-up: The program will onboard 5,000 founders in its initial phase, with a strategic 70% of participants drawn from outside the Seoul Metropolitan area to bridge the regional innovation gap.
- The 'Challenge Record': A first-of-its-kind system that treats previous entrepreneurial attempts as valid professional experience, ensuring that "failure" is recognized as a career asset in future government support applications.
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Tiered Funding: Top-performing teams will gain access to funding packages exceeding KRW 1 billion, supported by a dedicated KRW 50 billion final-stage fund.
By decentralizing support and valuing iterative experience, Korea is moving toward an "Entrepreneurship for Everyone" model to drive long-term, inclusive economic growth.
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