SUNNYVALE — S&S Lab, operator of IRIS LAB, South Korea’s first private sector-led shared research lab, has announced a strategic partnership with Plug and Play, a global innovation platform, and Simple Planet, a bio food tech startup. The goal of this collaboration is to establish the largest Food & Beverage (F&B) innovation ecosystem in South Korea, serving as an intermediary in open innovation involving government organizations, large enterprises, mid-sized companies, and foster mutual growth and cooperation with startups.
As part of this partnership, S&S Lab, Plug and Play, and Simple Planet will identify and nurture promising startups capable of playing a connecting role and solving the challenges of the future food system.
“Launching a Food & Beverage program in Korea is about bolstering the ecosystem locally and globally by providing the necessary infrastructure for growth while serving as the playground for collaboration to overcome critical bottlenecks in the value chain,” said Robert Grey, Director, Plug and Play Food & Beverage.
The collaboration includes various support programs, such as providing infrastructure for overseas expansion, engaging in open innovation with domestic and international enterprises, attracting venture capital investments both domestically and abroad, and creating a two-way platform to support the growth of promising startups.
S&S Lab, an accelerator specializing in the bio field, was established in February 2022, providing physical infrastructure and acceleration services like PoC verification, business consulting, investment attraction support, and research and development support for bio-based startups.
Through this agreement, Simple Planet will act as a mentor, providing insights and know-how to startups on business capacity enhancement, investment attraction strategies, collaboration with domestic and global companies, and entering overseas markets.
