SK Telecom to Pursue Global Co-Growth with 15 “K-Startups” at MWC
본문
Providing investment attraction support targeting major European venture capital firms… extending support to global investment and market expansion opportunities
A bird’s-eye view of the “SKT Startup Exhibition Hall” at “4YFN,” a side event of “MWC26.”
On the 24th, SK Telecom announced that it will operate a dedicated exhibition hall for innovative startups in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and ESG at “4YFN (4 Years from Now),” a side event of the world’s largest mobile communications exhibition, “MWC26,” and will support their global investment attraction and market expansion. “4YFN” is an exhibition that discovers and supports promising startups with the potential to participate in the main MWC exhibition four years from now.
This year’s “4YFN” will be held for four days from March 2 to 5 (local time) at Hall 8.1 of Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain, where “MWC26” takes place.
At this year’s “4YFN,” SK Telecom will set up a dedicated exhibition hall for startups and introduce collaboration cases and innovative technologies together with 15 promising startups in the AI and ESG sectors. The 15 companies are MesaQure Company, Bering Lab, Broz, Stress Solution, SixtyHertz, Energize, Airis, AIV, Pleasant Project, InvaLab, Chiloen, Coxwave, Conexi, Cubic, and Forenatures.
Since first operating a dedicated startup exhibition hall at “4YFN” in 2019, SK Telecom has continued to participate every year except for 2020 and 2021, when it did not attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this year’s exhibition hall carries the theme “SKTCH Today, Change Tomorrow,” reflecting a vision of mutual growth in which SK Telecom and startups create “the change of tomorrow” together through collaboration that encompasses AI innovation and environmental and social value. “SKTCH” is a combination of SKT, which stands for SK Telecom, and Tech, meaning technology, and represents SK Telecom’s collaboration platform for strengthening partnerships with startups.
At the exhibition, AI technologies being applied to real industries and everyday life across various areas such as security, space, and content will be introduced.
MesaQure Company provides identity verification technology to financial institutions and public organizations, including the PASS app of the three major telecommunications companies, based on its facial recognition AI solution “UFACE.” Broz offers a “space-specialized AI solution” that digitally recreates offline spaces through its 3D space auto-generation AI technology. Coxwave provides AI service improvement consulting based on user behavior data through its AI product analytics platform “Align,” and co-hosted the “Claude Code Builder Hackathon” with SK Telecom and Anthropic at the “2025 SK AI Summit.”
In addition, other participating companies include Bering Lab, which provides AI solutions specialized in legal translation; Energize, which developed the AI inference optimization engine “Optimum”; AIV, which is developing decentralized GPU cloud technology; Airis, which developed an AI-powered X-ray scanner for security applications; Chiloen, which operates an AI music creation platform; Conexi, which provides a data storage platform based on IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) distributed storage; and Cubic, which supplies synthetic data for AI analysis and training.
Startups in the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) sector that address environmental and social challenges through technology will also participate in this exhibition.
Stress Solution, a company providing the personalized stress management solution “Healing Beat” based on biometric data analysis, has previously delivered stress and sleep management solutions to the SK Knights basketball team. SixtyHertz, which offers AI-based renewable energy generation forecasting and management solutions, participated in the development of SK Telecom’s virtual power plant (VPP) map, improving energy management efficiency. Other participants showcasing innovative technologies include Pleasant Project, which operates an AI-based mental health management solution; InvaLab, which provides natural ecosystem restoration and management solutions using multimodal remote sensing data; and Forenatures, which develops eco-friendly carbon reduction and air purification technologies.
In addition to the exhibition, SK Telecom will hold a startup investment briefing in Barcelona on the 4th (local time), inviting representatives from major European venture capital (VC) firms. Seven startups—MesaQure Company, Stress Solution, SixtyHertz, Airis, AIV, Pleasant Project, and Cubic—will participate, presenting their technological capabilities and business competitiveness to global investors.
Eom Jong-hwan, Head of ESG Promotion at SK Telecom, said, “Through ‘4YFN’ at MWC26, we have established a dedicated exhibition hall to showcase the technological strengths and collaborative achievements of innovative startups to a global audience,” adding, “We will continue to provide meaningful, practical support as a strong partner for promising domestic startups.”
