The Korea Design Promotion Agency (KIDP) announced on the 18th that it will select eight promising start-ups in fashion, beauty, and living and participate in the European tech fair "Viva Tech 2026" in Paris, France, from June 17th to 20th (local time).
Viva Tech, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, is an exhibition where promising startups, global companies, and investors gather together. As of last year, about 180,000 visitors from 174 countries visited.
KIDP has been participating in Viva Tech since 2023 to support promising Korean startups entering the global market. Through this, cooperation with large and medium-sized companies in Europe, technology demonstration, business alliances, and distribution entry were carried out. Some companies are collaborating with global hotel groups and luxury brands, leading to actual contracts and overseas expansion. This time, KIDP participated with eight companies, including promising companies in the KIDP style technology program and companies participating in the design technology collaboration consortium, including △ Nuzzi △ DeepCent △Drap △ Rehosa △ Mimetix △ Tense △ △ Tense △ Bibob-Insia △ COG-V Touch.
The StyleTech program is a support project for KIDP to discover and foster innovative startups that combine advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data in the fashion, beauty and living industries. It has been operating since 2019 and has supported a total of 166 companies so far. It is focusing on design-based technological innovation and expanding opportunities for collaboration with large and medium-sized companies.
Among this year's participating companies, Drap is a Generative AI based commerce content production solution company with technology that automatically generates advertising images, model outfit cuts, and detailed pages with just one product photo. Mimetics is a beauty tech company based on biomimetic technology and is developing a functional patch and transdermal delivery platform by utilizing sound pressure-based skin adhesion technology conceived from the octopus sucker structure.
The exhibition was organized in cooperation with seven organizations, including the Korea International Trade Association, and a total of 34 domestic startups will participate. The Korea Design Promotion Agency oversees the exhibition planning, space design, and field operation of the joint hall, and organizes the innovation capabilities of participating organizations and companies to be delivered as a brand experience. The joint hall connects innovative companies in various fields such as AI, digital content, and style technology into a single integrated image and introduces the value of user experience and service innovation rather than the technology itself.
Kang Yoon-joo, head of the Korea Design Promotion Agency, said, "Viva Tech will actively support our style tech companies to verify their global market competitiveness and become a starting point for practical growth leading to investment, cooperation and commercialization."
