Congrats to ALPHACIRCLE for being selected as one of the companies to participate in CJ CIAT PROGRAM - CJ Group (english.cj.net) announced on the 3rd of June, 2022 that it has selected 10 companies to participate in the 2nd season of the "CJ Innovated and Advanced Tech (CIAT) Program" along with the Ministry of SMEs, the Startup Promotion Agency, and the Busan Design Promotion Agency. CIAT is an open innovation program in which six major affiliates, including CJ CheilJedang, CJ Korea Express, and CJ ENM, select and support startups in the leap period (three to seven years of start-ups). It intensively supports "Proof of Concept (PoC)" that develops and verifies technologies and services envisioned by startups.

Through the public offering that began in February, 10 companies were selected in three areas: Food & Bio, Logistics, Entertainment & Media. Selected start-ups will be provided with customized consultation support for about eight months along with commercialization subsidies. CJ will first review the feasibility of the technology and business collaboration through 'Proof of Concept (PoC)' for the first four months. In addition, it will provide seminars on technology and business models that startups need. After that, it will introduce the business items of each company and hold a "Demo Day" to attract investment. Through this, it plans to follow up a review of business interconnection with CJ affiliates and support a global expansion opportunity such as visiting the CES 2023 exhibition that holds in Las Vegas, U.S.A. 

CJ ENM will participate in the entertainment & media field, and they will support "ALPHACIRCLE," which will be implementing contactless VR concerts using ALPHACIRCLE's core technology.

An official representative from CJ Group said, "We are mobilizing all business capabilities and support in the food, logistics, and media sectors so that companies selected by CIAT can leap forward as next-generation unicorns," adding, "We will continue to fulfill corporate social responsibilities and roles to create a healthy startup ecosystem."

** Resources: an original article published from and modified by Kevin Kim at ALPHACIRCLE >> CJ, 스타트업 육성 '씨앗' 2기 참여 10곳 선정 - 전자신문 (etnews.com)