Unlocking Innovation Budget - Korean Opportunity

Join us during San Francisco Climate Week for a focused session on why Korea has become one of the most effective global platforms to pilot, validate, and scale climate technologies.

Co-hosted by Mind the Bridge, this track showcases how Korea’s unique combination of public funding, corporate demand, and testbed infrastructure is unlocking faster and more capital-efficient innovation cycles.

As global corporates struggle to move from pilot to deployment, Korea is emerging as a strategic gateway to run fully-funded PoCs, accelerate validation, and de-risk scaling.

This session brings together public institutions, startups, and global corporates to share how to navigate, and win, in this ecosystem.

For corporates: Learn how to leverage Korea’s innovation infrastructure to run faster, lower-cost PoCs and accelerate deployment with leading technology providers.For startups: Understand how to access funding, testbeds, and corporate partners in Korea to scale internationally.For investors & ecosystem builders: Gain insight into one of the most effective global environments for industrial innovation and cross-border collaboration.

This event is part of the Mind the Bridge Silicon Valley Summit 2026.

Agenda

1:00 PM – 1:15 PM | Doors Open & Networking time

1:15 PM – 1:35 PM | Unlocking Innovation Budget: The Korea OpportunityAn overview of Korea’s innovation landscape, including public institutions, funding mechanisms, and corporate demand that make it a global leader in piloting and scaling industrial technologies.Featuring:

​​Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge

1:35 PM – 2:05 PM | Panel: Why K-Climate Tech Startups Are GoldenA showcase of leading Korean climate tech startups sharing how they collaborate with global corporates, expand internationally, and differentiate from other innovation ecosystems.Featuring:

​​​​Dr. Boris Brigljević, Chief Strategy Officer at Carbon ValueJungyong Nam, Co-founder & Chairman at ETA Electronics​​Giancarlo Savini, Partner at Carbon Removal Partners [Moderator]

​2:05 PM – 2:15 PM | Quick Recharge

2:15 PM – 2:45 PM | Panel: Why Global Corporates Are Scaling with K-Climate TechInternational corporates share real-world experiences exploring and running PoCs and deployments with Korean technology providers: what worked, what didn’t, and how to unlock faster industrial innovation.Featuring:

Salvatore Bonaccorso, Head of Open Innovation Ecosystems and Hubs at Fincantieri​​Daniel Seo, Investment Manager at 3M​​Marco Marinucci, Founder & CEO at Mind the Bridge [Moderator]

2:45 PM – 3:45 PM | Networking

Why Attend

From PoC to Deployment: Learn how Korea enables faster, lower-risk validation and scaling of industrial technologies.

A Global Innovation Shortcut: Understand how to access funding, testbeds, and corporate demand in one of the most effective ecosystems worldwide.

Korea Climate Tech Ecosystem: Connect with startups, corporates, and institutions actively driving cross-border innovation and deployment.

By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week.