POSCO Holdings announced on May 14 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with KDB at Ground Gwangyang to collaborate on revitalizing the venture ecosystem and promoting balanced regional development.
The agreement aims to combine POSCO Group's venture development capabilities with KDB's financial support infrastructure to discover promising regional startups and facilitate their continuous growth.
The memorandum includes provisions for KDB to review direct investments or loans for startups located in regions recommended by POSCO Group, support for attracting investments for recommended companies through KDB's regional specialized venture platform, and collaboration on nurturing regional startups and discovering promising ventures.
Following the signing ceremony, an investor relations (IR) session was held for five regional venture companies recommended by POSCO Group. This session is part of the investment attraction support activities outlined in the agreement, featuring five promising ventures in the fields of secondary battery materials, biotechnology, and robotics, either currently based at or intending to move to Ground Gwangyang.
CEO Lee Joo-tae stated, "Through our open innovation venture platform, CHANGeUP, POSCO Group has been strengthening ties with venture companies in our core business areas, including steel and secondary battery materials, while also discovering new business opportunities. With our collaboration with KDB, we aim to solidify the support framework for the growth of regionally based ventures and contribute to regional economic revitalization and national balanced development."
The signing ceremony was attended by approximately 110 people, including Lee Joo-tae, CEO of POSCO Holdings, Ko Jae-yoon, head of POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, KDB Senior Vice President Lee Bong-hee, representatives from venture companies, venture investors, and officials from startup-related organizations.
Meanwhile, POSCO Holdings reported on April 30 that it achieved consolidated revenues of 17.876 trillion won, operating profit of 707 billion won, and net profit of 543 billion won for the first quarter of this year. Despite increased uncertainty in energy supply chains and financial markets due to the Middle East conflict, the commercial production of lithium at POSCO Argentina significantly reduced losses in that sector, leading to increases in both revenue and profit.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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