Checkmate Capital Group and KAIST Venture Investment Holdings Announce Partnership & Selection as TIPS Operator
LOS ANGELES and SEOUL, South Korea, June 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A consortium formed by KAIST Venture Investment Holdings and Checkmate Capital Group has been selected as a program operator for South Korea’s Tech Incubator Program for Startups (“TIPS”). The KAIST-Checkmate consortium has been selected as a specialist program operator in the Emerging Technology Expert category.
TIPS is a venture accelerator program organized by South Korea’s Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises. Program operators identify, evaluate, and select emerging startups based on the merit of their commercial potential. Once selected to the program, participating startups are matched with program operators to provide mentorship and are eligible to apply for R&D grants, investment matching funds, and commercial grants to be used for strategic advisory and transaction support services.
In its bid to be selected as a TIPS program operator, KAIST, with its successful track record of launching emerging technology startups in South Korea, partnered with Checkmate, a Los Angeles-based advisory and investment group with cross-border commercialization expertise. This consortium was selected by TIPS as a program operator specializing in helping Korean companies with strong IP achieve commercial success, both domestically and abroad.
“Checkmate is actively growing its presence in South Korea,” said Checkmate CEO Tom Paschall. “We are pleased to announce our collaboration with KAIST, a globally-recognized institution producing some of the world’s most transformative businesses and technologies.”
“Through our joint participation as a TIPS program operator, KAIST and Checkmate look forward to helping early-stage Korean enterprises achieve global success,” added Checkmate Managing Director Jay Ryu.
KAIST Venture Investment Holdings CEO Henry Chung said, “We are excited to partner with Checkmate as our foreign advisor. Checkmate is already advising KAIST portfolio companies in the US, where Checkmate’s support and guidance has been instrumental to their global expansion strategies.” Mr. Chung added, “As a program operator, the KAIST-Checkmate partnership is strengthening the global reach and transactional capabilities of the TIPS program and is fulfilling KAIST’s commitment to support the success of exceptional Korean technology startups domestically and abroad.”
Other groups selected as specialist program operators in the TIPS program include Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, GS Retail, Seah Group subsidiary VNTG Corp, and Hite Jinro.
About Checkmate Capital Group:
Checkmate Capital is an investment and strategic advisory group managing family office assets with a global commercial and financial network. Checkmate Capital's primary areas of investment are biotechnology, agriculture and waste technology, energy technology, and other diversified technologies. Our team provides seasoned expertise in our focused industries, leveraging an international group of strategic partners, business talent, and resources. For more information, visit www.checkmatecapital.net.
About KAIST:
KAIST Venture Investment Holdings is the venture investing arm of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a research-oriented science and engineering institution and one of South Korea’s most prestigious universities. http://kaistventures.com/
About TIPS:
TIPS (Accelerator Investment-Driven Tech Incubator Program for Startups) is designed to identify and nurture the most promising startups with innovative ideas and groundbreaking technologies. In order to support them when entering the global marketplace, it appoints and designates successful venture founders, who are now angel investors and leaders of technological enterprises, as their incubators/accelerators. It then offers seamless service encompassing angel investor networking, incubating, mentoring/professional support and matching R&D funds. For more info, visit https://www.kised.or.kr/menu.es?mid=a20204040000