TYPHOON, from sopoong Demo day 2024

The sopoong ventures, founded in 2008, started as an impact investment company. They focused on startups that solve social problems faster, more sustainably, and more fundamentally. They aim to generate both social value and capital performance. This year, sopoong ventures held the TYPHOON Demoday 2024. Seven startups completed the Batch program* with the Seed-TIPS (Team Incubator Program for Seed-funding) and pitched their products that they were developing for six months.

*A Batch program is an accelerator program that provides early-stage startup teams with advice on overall business management, including market analysis, accounting, legal affairs, etc., in a specific nurturing space for a certain period, and also executes seed investments.

The sopoong ventures’ portfolio is focused on impact investment. They have invested in SOCAR, the car-sharing platform heading towards seamless mobility in South Korea, Prefer, a team reducing carbon footprint through food upcycling in Singapore, and AROOO, a Fem-tech content startup in South Korea. They are making small but significant changes in the climate change and social problem sectors. Impact investment aligns with all startups’ vision: “Solve problems using technology.” Also, They only invest in companies that follow the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals.

Choi Kyung-hee Partner announced a keynote about this Seed-TIPS accelerating program, TYPHOON. She said Batch program’s meaning about “An accelerator plays the role of a kingmaker or queenmaker in an election. It discovers the visions that entrepreneurs have, brings promising entrepreneurs onto the stage, and supports them wholeheartedly behind the scenes so that the innovations and impacts they are putting into action can be widely known to the world. There is no greater joy than meeting entrepreneurs every day and witnessing the growth of their startup teams.”

TYPHOON 2024 is 7 startup’s public debut stage with sopoong ventures. 7 startups list : TOFF MOBILY, ARTRA Six, Invigo Works, iceberg, maetel, beyond captur, ALabs. Of the 7 startups mentioned earlier, the following are the first 5 startups focused on IT solutions solving social sector issues and ICT problems. Beyond Capture and ALabs are specially focused on CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage) technology.

Choi Kyung-hee partner said, meaning about Demo Day 2024. “The word ‘Sopoong’ has multiple meanings In Korean. It usually means ‘picnic’ but same ward writing in Chinese characters meaning ‘small wind.’ The 2024 Demo Day is a collction of small winds making a big wind, which is why it’s called ‘TYHOON.'” Tiny team makes big bang.Tiny team makes big bang.