South Korea’s two biggest companies gave birth to innovative startups through in-house incubations.

Hyundai Motor Group announced Monday it has spun off four startup offspring from its discovery and incubation program H-Startup after two to four years of grooming.

The four startup beneficiaries are Mycel (fungi-base new materials that can replace leather and film for vehicles), PM SOL (3D printing metal powders and lubricants), Wonder Move (employees carpooling platform) and Elmcad (3D automobile design solutions).

The auto conglomerate launched the in-house startup incubation program, formerly Venture Plaza, to secure innovative technologies for future mobility in 2000. A total of 53 in-house units have benefitted from the program, of which 16 has been spun off into separate entities from the group.

On the same day, Samsung Electronics Co. also separated five in-house startups incubated through C-Lab. Its children are Blockbuster (3D computer graphics-based mobile video editing application), Hyler (smart highlighter for digitalization of analog text), Haxby (AI-based smart study note service for learners), SunnyFive (window-shaped lighting device for artificial sunlight), and RootSensor (new type of sensor to record daily UV exposure).

The Korean tech giant launched the startup and venture incubation program C-Lab in 2012 to discover innovative ideas, and a total of 163 employees have set up 45 startups and attracted a combined 55 billion won ($44.9 million) investments so far.

“Going forward, we will continue working to unlock Samsung employees’ potential for creative innovation while encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit,” said Hahn In-kuk, vice president and head of the Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics.

By Lee Jong-hyuk, Chun Gyung-woon and Lee Ha-yeon

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