Samsung Electronics Announces Support for Four New Startups Spun off From Its C-Lab Program

Started in December 2012, Samsung C-Lab Inside nurtures employees’ innovative ideas while instilling a corporate culture in which creativity is at the fore. Since 2015, Samsung has been supporting C-Lab projects that demonstrate market potential from all areas of the business and facilitating their launch as startups under the C-Lab spin-off policy.

Now, Samsung Electronics has announced that it will support four new startups that have grown out of the company’s C-Lab Inside in-house venture program. Read more about the four new startups below.

Scan & Dive

Startup ‘Scan & Dive’ has developed a device that can analyze and classify different types of fabrics. When it is used to scan clothes, the device can tell the thickness, abrasiveness, and weaving methods used, while also classifying textiles such as cotton, polyester and rayon.

Scan & Dive’s solution can be used to automate clothing classification at laundry facilities and recycling centers and can also be used to help fashion companies inspect fabrics and make purchasing decisions. The device also has the potential to have its use cases expanded to materials such as plastic, metal and others.

Ice Linker

C-Lab spin-off ‘Ice Linker’ has created a smart cooler that automatically manages the temperatures of users that are running a fever. When worn on the head, it measures the patient’s body temperature from both temples and gradually reduces the temperature of the inner cooling plate to cool the user down.

In addition, Ice Linker offers a feature that manages the patient’s condition in real-time and delivers notifications through a smartphone app if their condition worsens. Going forward, the use cases for this device will be expanded so that it can be used by outdoor workers and by those who enjoy playing sports.

Pinot Lab

Startup ‘Pinot Lab’ has established an app that recommends wines to suit users’ tastes. When users take a picture of a wine label, it provides flavor, rating, food pairing, price, and purchase information to help them quickly and easily find a wine that’s right for them.

When users enter their meal of choice into the app, it harnesses AI-based food matching algorithms to recommend a wine to go with their meal. The app can even tell users where they can buy the wines that it recommends!

STRA

‘STRA’, another startup launched through C-Lab, has developed a guitar chord generation app called ‘CODA’ that enables users to view chords and practice playing whatever songs they may choose. When the name of a song is provided, the app’s AI engine extracts the audio data and converts it to guitar chords. The app even helps users learn the correct finger placements.

Looking ahead, STRA is planning to expand the use cases for CODA so that the app can be used with a music platform that helps connect music teachers to people who want to learn to play instruments and provides contactless music lessons.

Other Recently Launched Startups

C-Lab spin-off ‘WELT’, a digital healthcare startup that develops smart belts, has recently raised funding of USD 5.3 million from total healthcare company Handok and two other venture capitals. The startup is planning to work with investors to develop digital therapeutics for alcoholism and insomnia.

‘AIMT’, which develops high-performance vacuum insulation materials, is expanding its business from insulation panels for home appliances to eco-friendly cold chain packaging that is made from recycling PET bottles. Last December, it was selected as a ‘preliminary unicorn special guarantee company’ by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and its sales tripled on the previous year to reach USD 14.2 million in 2020.

In addition to the C-Lab spin-off program providing startups with the investment and business consulting they need to grow, Samsung provides a five-year window during which employees who launch startups can return to their jobs if their endeavors prove unsuccessful. As a result, 182 employees have established 52 startups since the inception of the C-Lab program.

Speaking about the program, Vice President and Head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics Inkuk Hahn said, “Going forward, we will continue to support promising C-Lab projects and employees with entrepreneurial ambitions to allow them to spin their ventures off from the program and contribute to the startup ecosystem in Korea.”