Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Matthias Weitl and participating companies from Startup Autobahn Korea pose for a commemorative photo at the ‘Startup Autobahn Korea’ Expo Day held at the Nonhyeon-dong Cultural Complex in Seoul on the 29th of last month. (Matthias Weitl, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea (second row, first from the left), Kim Hong-joong, Senior Vice President of External Cooperation at Mercedes-Benz Korea (second row, second from the left), and Kulsat Kartal, Head of Mercedes-Benz R&D Korea Center (second row, first from the right)) │Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea

Mercedes-Benz Korea successfully concluded this year's 100-day program on the 29th of last month by hosting "Expo Day," where participating companies from "STARTUP AUTOBAHN Korea 2024" shared their final development results.

Held at the Nonhyeon-dong Multi-Cultural Center in Seoul, Expo Day was attended by approximately 200 attendees, including Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Matthias Weitl, startup founders and officials, and venture capitalists. Participating startups presented their proof-of-concept (PoC) achievements and explored collaboration and investment opportunities with partner companies and venture capitalists through networking programs.

Furthermore, the event featured presentations by National Assembly members Kim Yong-tae, Lee Jun-seok, and Jang Kyung-tae on legislative support for startup development and global expansion strategies. Professor Lee Jun-young of Sangmyung University, author of Trend Korea, also delivered a special lecture titled "2025 Trends" to provide the latest industry insights.

This year, 13 startups were selected for Startup Autobahn Korea, spanning a wide range of fields, including electric vehicle charging systems and batteries, AI solutions, autonomous driving, and simulation. They worked with partners such as Mercedes-Benz Korea, LG Electronics, and Hanwha Systems for approximately 100 days of project development and technology verification.

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Matthias Weitl delivers a congratulatory address at the "Startup Autobahn Korea" Expo Day, held at the Nonhyeon-dong Cultural Complex in Seoul on the 29th of last month. │Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Kore

Notably, "Remplir," which announced its development results at the Expo Day, successfully verified high-power ESS battery technology for the Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle charging network. Previously, at the "2024 Public-Private Partnership Open Innovation Achievement Sharing Conference" hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups last month, it received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award along with its partner, Mercedes-Benz Korea.

Furthermore, WiPowerOne, which offers wireless charging solutions for electric vehicles, also participated in a global collaboration opportunity discovery and technology verification program organized by Mercedes-Benz Korea in Stuttgart, Germany, in November of last year to support the global expansion and growth of promising startups.

This program also helped build capabilities. 

Matthias Weitl, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, stated, "For the past five years, Startup Autobahn Korea has served as a testbed for innovation, providing promising domestic startups with tangible growth momentum through collaboration with companies and achieving meaningful results together.

We will continue to pursue continuous innovation through collaboration through Startup Autobahn Korea to further develop the domestic startup incubation ecosystem." Startup Autobahn, a global open innovation platform established by Mercedes-Benz Germany in 2016 to discover promising startups and establish a collaborative system, is a global platform established in Korea in 2020 and now in its fifth year. A total of 63 domestic startups have received support through this program.