[비즈한국] The service life of a prosthetic hand is usually only 5 years, but 10 years ago, the price reached 40 million won. 'Mand.ro', a developer of electronic prosthetic hands and robotic hands, started with the goal of providing products at the price of a smartphone or laptop so that no one would be unable to use a prosthetic hand for economic reasons. Lee Sang-ho, CEO of Mand.ro, said, "We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the CES 2026 site with 'Oversonic', an Italian humanoid robot company we have been communicating with continuously," adding, "This means our domestic robotic hand technology is fully entering the global humanoid robot ecosystem, which has now entered the mass production stage."
Privacy tech startup 'UniUni' showcased its AI-based security and safety technology at this CES, which analyzes human behavior patterns using only sensor data without cameras, led by its secure smart restroom solution 'Savvy'. Han Soo-yeon, CEO of UniUni, stated, "Solutions that protect real-time safety while preserving privacy are a common requirement in the global market," and added, "Following our entry into the Japanese market, export discussions are recently becoming concrete for the US, Mexico, Switzerland, and more."
A venue was prepared at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 21st to meet the domestic companies that proved their technical prowess at CES 2026, the world's largest technology exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA, in early January. The 'CES AI Innovation Plaza', organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), was held to connect companies' innovation achievements to actual exports and investment attraction. It is an official follow-up program designed to accelerate the commercialization of global partnership demands identified at CES and provide close support for our companies to enter the Global Value Chain (GVC).
The event consisted of △a showcase for CES Innovation Award winners △investment consulting by invitation of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) △a CES 2026 debriefing seminar △and pitching sessions for AI and innovative companies. A total of 36 AI and innovation-focused startups, including companies that received CES Innovation Awards, demonstrated their technologies and products on-site to explore business opportunities.
Global investment firms and financial institutions, such as 'Salesforce' from the US and 'Mizuho Bank', one of Japan's top three banks, participated in the event. In addition, a total of 52 domestic and foreign investment firms and buyers, including LX Ventures and ETRI Holdings, visited, and 3 MOUs were signed on-site.
At the debriefing seminar, key technology and market trends from this year's CES were discussed. Four companies that received Innovation Awards took the stage as speakers to share their award-winning know-how and strategies for commercializing their technologies.
Korean companies received their best-ever report card at CES 2026. The 'Integrated Korea Pavilion', where 38 organizations including KOTRA collaborated, saw 470 companies participate in a total of 2,480 on-site consultations, and Korean companies set a record for the most CES Innovation Awards for three consecutive years. It is evaluated that they have demonstrated the power of K-Tech by also breaking previous records for the amount of contracts pursued.
However, it is also pointed out that there is a need to narrow the time gap by connecting these spectacular award achievements to actual orders. The analysis suggests that follow-up strategies are needed to bridge the attention received from the global market at the exhibition to practical business results.
The government and KOTRA plan to provide customized support and help innovative companies enter the global supply chain. They will provide follow-up overseas marketing support to innovation award-winning companies. KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung emphasized, "As global companies and investors' interest in the K-AI and innovation ecosystem is higher than ever, we will do our utmost to commercialize the demands identified on-site and expand our AI ecosystem globally."