Unlocking Innovation Budget - Korean Opportunity
Join us during San Francisco Climate Week for a focused session on why Korea has become one of the most effective global platforms to pilot, validate, and scale climate technologies.
Co-hosted by Mind the Bridge, this track showcases how Korea’s unique combination of public funding, corporate demand, and testbed infrastructure is unlocking faster and more capital-efficient innovation cycles.
As global corporates struggle to move from pilot to deployment, Korea is emerging as a strategic gateway to run fully-funded PoCs, accelerate validation, and de-risk scaling.
This session brings together public institutions, startups, and global corporates to share how to navigate, and win, in this ecosystem.
For corporates: Learn how to leverage Korea’s innovation infrastructure to run faster, lower-cost PoCs and accelerate deployment with leading technology providers.
For startups: Understand how to access funding, testbeds, and corporate partners in Korea to scale internationally.
For investors & ecosystem builders: Gain insight into one of the most effective global environments for industrial innovation and cross-border collaboration.
This event is part of the Mind the Bridge Silicon Valley Summit 2026.
Agenda
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM | Doors Open & Networking time
1:15 PM – 1:35 PM | Unlocking Innovation Budget: The Korea Opportunity
An overview of Korea’s innovation landscape, including public institutions, funding mechanisms, and corporate demand that make it a global leader in piloting and scaling industrial technologies.
Featuring:
Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge
Hwo Geun Park, Director of Global Cooperation Team at Korea Innovation Foundation (Innopolis)
1:35 PM – 2:05 PM | Panel: Why K-Climate Tech Startups Are Golden
A showcase of leading Korean climate tech startups sharing how they collaborate with global corporates, expand internationally, and differentiate from other innovation ecosystems.
Featuring:
Dr. Boris Brigljević, Chief Strategy Officer at Carbon Value
Jungyong Nam, Co-founder & Chairman at ETA Electronics
Joungho Jeon, CEO at JJ&Companies Inc.
Woojin (William) Jun, CEO at WIM
Giancarlo Savini, Partner at Carbon Removal Partners [Moderator]
2:05 PM – 2:15 PM | Quick Recharge
2:15 PM – 2:45 PM | Panel: Why Global Corporates Are Scaling with K-Climate Tech
International corporates share real-world experiences exploring and running PoCs and deployments with Korean technology providers: what worked, what didn’t, and how to unlock faster industrial innovation.
Featuring:
Salvatore Bonaccorso, Head of Open Innovation Ecosystems and Hubs at Fincantieri
Daniel Seo, Investment Manager at 3M
Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge [Moderator]
2:45 PM – 3:45 PM | Networking
Why Attend
From PoC to Deployment: Learn how Korea enables faster, lower-risk validation and scaling of industrial technologies.
A Global Innovation Shortcut: Understand how to access funding, testbeds, and corporate demand in one of the most effective ecosystems worldwide.
Korea Climate Tech Ecosystem: Connect with startups, corporates, and institutions actively driving cross-border innovation and deployment.
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week.