South Summit to support Asian entrepreneurial ecosystem

Nacho Mateo, CEO of South Summit, highlighted this mission during the 14th edition of the event, held from Sept. 25-27 in Suwon, Korea, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Tech.

Out of the 80 speakers at South Summit Korea, 43 came from outside the country, and 32% represented startups and scaleups excelling in AI and Deep Tech technologies. Notable companies included Paddle, LottieFiles, k-ID, Asteroid Technologies, DeepX, Rebellions.AI, and TIER IV.

Mateo referred to this first edition in Korea as a significant step toward expanding South Summit’s reach, aiming to unite key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem across Asia. He also expressed a desire to welcome more innovative ideas from Vietnamese startups.

"The goal of the summit is to act as an interconnector between different continents," Mateo said. "By helping our international community exchange and interact, we can foster success in entrepreneurial ecosystems."

South Summit 14th edition in Korea. Photo courtesy of IE University

Most recently, the 13th edition of South Summit in Madrid, Spain, attracted over 18,000 attendees from 133 countries, including more than 6,500 entrepreneurs, over 2,000 investors managing portfolios of more than $500 billion, and over 6,000 corporate representatives. The event also featured 26 internationally renowned unicorns.

South Summit is a global platform that brings together all players in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, promoting business opportunities. Its flagship event, South Summit Madrid, has launched numerous successful startups through its Startup Competition. To date, the competition has produced seven unicorns, with over 1,000 finalist startups boasting a 90% survival rate and raising $16.2 billion in investment.

During the summit, Mateo emphasized the importance of collaboration between universities, startups, and entrepreneurs. "Universities shape education, while startups bring technology that enhances it," he explained, referencing IE University’s entrepreneurship and innovation centers and the impact of its Xcelerator program, which connects 100+ global ventures and 75+ industry collaborators.

According to Mateo, South Summit plays a pivotal role in educating future generations and inspiring them to become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. "We are deeply committed to educating and motivating young people, as they will shape the future," he said.

The first edition of South Summit Korea also featured a competition where 30 finalists, selected from 420 startup applications from 62 countries, competed for the title of best startup in AI and Deep Tech.

At the closing ceremony, Dtonic, a leading Korean startup in AI and data infrastructure, was crowned the global winner. Dtonic’s innovative "3 layers of Artificial Intelligence" approach is revolutionizing sectors from Smart Cities to retail with advanced solutions in data platforms, Edge Computing, and AI applications.

Other awards were presented for the most disruptive, sustainable, scalable, and best team startups in AI and Deep Tech. Korean startup Norma won the Most Disruptive award, while German startup Aqarios received recognition for Best Team. Israeli startup VSL Labs was honored as the Most Sustainable, and Peruvian startup Tumi Robotics was awarded the title of Most Scalable.