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FLY ASIA 2025 Successfully Concludes… Global Cooperation, AI Innovation, and a 500 Billion KRW Investment Ecosystem Materialized

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that the Asia Startup Expo “FLY ASIA 2025,” held at BEXCO Exhibition Center I from September 22 to 23, concluded successfully.

This year’s event began with the opening ceremony, followed by the LP–VC Forum, the Mother Fund Investment Show “BugiTech,” conferences, and awards ceremonies.

[Opening Ceremony Keynote Speech] In his keynote address introducing Busan’s startup environment and global competitiveness, Mayor Park emphasized, “Busan is already a prepared city and ready to become a city of opportunity as an Asian startup hub,” marking the beginning of the event.

In the subsequent keynote speech by Plug and Play Vice President Jojo Flores, a vision was presented to implement the world’s first collaboration model integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the maritime, port, and aviation sectors where Busan has competitive strengths.

[Record-Breaking Achievements] Celebrating its fourth year, this event was held under the theme “Innovation at the Local Level, Scaling Up Globally.” With unprecedented numbers of participants and global partners, the event confirmed Busan’s emergence as Asia’s startup hub.

The expo attracted over 20,000 attendees from 40 countries, including more than 500 investors and around 2,200 startups and related participants, facilitating extensive exchanges and collaboration opportunities within the global startup ecosystem.

During the event, over 1,000 investment consultations (meetups) were held, with investment intentions worth approximately 200 billion KRW identified. In addition, 170 startups participated in the exhibition hall, showcasing their technologies and services, which led to active networking opportunities.

[Diversification of LP Base] Korea’s only “Limited Partner (LP) Forum” was attended by 18 major LP institutions and over 70 stakeholders, including global venture capital representatives. Busan Metropolitan City plans to diversify the LP base further, building on the networks established during this event.

[Activation of Regional Investment Ecosystem] At Korea’s first Mother Fund Investment Show “BugiTech,” investment ecosystems worth a total of 500 billion KRW were officially launched, including the Busan Future Growth Venture Fund (300 billion KRW) and the Busan Innovation Scale-up Venture Fund (200 billion KRW).

Samjung Development Co., Ltd. and AL Robot Co., Ltd. were announced as the first investee companies of the Busan Future Growth Venture Fund, signaling the start of investments, with expectations that more local companies will benefit going forward.

BugiTech: Busan Metropolitan City’s flagship investor relations (IR) and networking event designed to support (Bu)san, (Gi)sul [Technology], and (Tech) startups.

[Expansion of Global Startup Network] The Global Pavilion (exhibition booths) expanded from six countries last year to 14 countries this year, achieving 230 percent growth and setting a new record. In addition, the Global Committee was convened, opening up opportunities for Busan to become a platform city for Asian startups.

In particular, Airalo, a global unicorn company, drew international attention by presenting cases of AI and smart innovation.

At the “Global Committee” held at the Westin Chosun on September 23, the Vice Mayor for Future Innovation, the President of the Busan Startup Investment Agency, and six global committee members discussed the “FLY ASIA Development Strategy” and the “Vision of Busan as Asia’s Startup Hub.” This discussion laid the foundation for expanding global networks and actively advancing cooperative projects.

[Integrated Startup Awards] For the first time this year, all startup awards were integrated into FLY ASIA, demonstrating Busan’s establishment as a true “hub for startup idea competitions.”

In the [Domestic Track], 10 finalist teams of the “B-Startup Challenge,” Busan’s representative startup entry event, competed, with five teams ultimately selected to receive equity investment support worth 300 million KRW.

In the [Overseas Track], 96 companies applied for the “FLY ASIA Overseas Awards,” with three companies (from Singapore, Japan, and Thailand) selected as winners.

In the [Student Track], 336 teams of university, graduate, and high school students participated in the startup idea competition, with 10 teams selected as finalists.

Equity investment of 300 million KRW was fully supported by BNK Busan Bank.

Across all three tracks of the awards, a total of 18 companies (teams) were selected, with total prize money reaching 460 million KRW.

[Expanded Experiential Content] The event also featured various side programs, including food crowdfunding and family-friendly goods events in collaboration with the Lotte Giants, creating a vibrant startup festival where citizens and youth participated together.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “FLY ASIA is not just a startup event but a growth platform that will elevate Busan into Asia’s top startup city. Through advancement of the investment ecosystem, reinforcement of global connections, and expanded citizen participation, Busan has already established itself as the best city to start a business and make investments.”