Fifty small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea funded by the government will be rewarded for their research and development (R&D) efforts.

According to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Monday, the government has selected 50 successful R&D achievements among SMEs for the first time with the aim of encouraging innovation.

The government screened all businesses funded for their R&D projects by the government over the past five years from 2018 to draw out the final 50 entities.

Rebellions Inc., which designs artificial intelligence (AI) chips, has been named for its successful development of ATOM, a server-based AI processor.

ATOM outperformed competitors from global giants like Nvidia Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. in terms of semiconductor performance at the Machine Learning Performance (MLPerf) benchmark in April, positioning itself as the world’s top AI system-on-chip.

H Energy Co. played a leading role in the power intermediation sector, a field previously unexplored by domestic companies, by developing a solar power operation and intermediation service platform called Mohat.

With the energy investment platform, the company’s revenue has increased fivefold, reaching 22.4 billion won ($16.6 million) in 2022, up from 4.5 billion won in 2020.

A beauty equipment maker, SZM Inc., went out of business due to trademark infringement and counterfeit products by its Chinese partner.

However, with government funding, the company succeeded in developing an AI healthcare bidet that collects and analyzes users’ health data, achieving its first export deal to Canada this year and making a remarkable comeback.

Other selected companies also achieved significant success in their respective fields by pioneering in R&D, expanding into new businesses, and increasing their revenue.

“Many SMEs have contributed to the country’s economic growth despite challenging domestic and international circumstances, achieving diverse results such as 15 trillion won in revenue, 3 billion dollars in exports, and 140,000 job creations over the past five years through R&D,” the ministry said.

The award ceremony for the companies will be held in Sejong City in December. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide various benefits to the selected companies, including low-interest loans, investment support, overseas exhibition participation, and preferential R&D support.

By Kim Dong-eun and Chang Iou-chung

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