SEOUL -- The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Kyunghoon Bae) together with the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA, President Yun-kyu Park) and the Korea AI Software Industry Association (KOSA, Chairman Joon-hee Joh) held the AI Innovation Accelerator (AIIA) Alumni Results & Networking Session at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Thursday, Dec. 4, to mark the program’s completion.

The AIIA program is an accelerator program supporting companies entering the U.S. East Coast market. Organized by the MSIT and jointly operated by NYU Stern School of Business (NYU Stern), NIPA, and KOSA, the program is designed to help AI and digital companies enter the U.S. market based on business education, local networks, and professional consulting services.

A total of 20 companies participated in the program, held in two rounds: one in the first half and the other in the second half of the year. For each participant, an industry expert mentor was assigned to provide an execution-focused, intensive acceleration program over eight weeks, covering preliminary assessment, market strategy refinement, partner matching, and follow-up discussions. Additionally, an entrepreneurship workshop provided by NYU Stern, visits to local investors, companies, and government agencies, and collaboration with local MBA fellows, mentors, and consultants, realigned participants’ market access strategies based on U.S. customer needs. The Global AI Frontier Lab, jointly operated by NYU and the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP, President Jin-bae Hong), offered office space for participants.

A survey conducted on participants showed positive results, including three investments secured, 62 partnerships signed, and the establishment of three U.S. entities. Follow-up meetings are ongoing even after the program’s completion, with further achievements expected.

The participants expressed high satisfaction and indicated they would strongly recommend the program. They noted that the biggest change was a shift from a technology-focused perspective to a market-driven approach that prioritizes the U.S. market and customer needs.

Notably, the expertise of the local mentor group and their impactful partner connections enabled by NYU’s network were cited as the top satisfaction factors. A majority of the participants reported securing concrete business leads, including U.S. partnerships and market validation, through the program.

Building on this year’s achievements, the MSIT, NIPA, and KOSA plan to further enhance their cooperation framework with NYU Stern and local agencies next year, establishing a sustainable support system for U.S. market entry.

The call for applications for the 2026 program will be announced in the first quarter of next year on the NIPA and KOSA websites.