AP’s Minister for IT and Electronics Mr Nara Lokesh who is currently in South Korea on a six-day official tour has called upon South Korea’s young innovators and startups to look at Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking at a roundtable meeting organized by the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) with Korean tech startups, Minister Nara Lokesh apprised them of RTIH, a flagship startup incubation and entrepreneurship network established by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Startup Corridor
He thus invited Korean companies to work together to create an India-Korea Startup Corridor with RTIH as the hub.
We will set up a dedicated Korea Desk, soft-landing “VC Bay”, and co-incubation with Korean agencies (COTRA/K-Startup) , affirmed the minister.
This he said will provide market access on both sides and will facilitate access of Korean startups to Tier 2-3 markets in India and Andhra Pradesh startups to Korea.
Andhra Pradesh accounts for about 40% of India’s aquaculture, noted Mr Lokesh and said that investments in logistics, fintech, deep-tech, frontier tech and advanced manufacturing hubs along the 1,053 km long coastline can be profitable for Korean companies.
He highlighted the AP Innovation & Startup Policy 2024–29 and the various benefits it offers to aspiring entrepreneurs.
In addition, Minister Lokesh invited Korean startups to join its full life cycle programs like Spark (idea generation), Catalyst (18 weeks incubation) and Velocity Labs.
The platform has already supported over 2,500 startups and partnered with over 5,200 entrepreneurs.
RTIH, is said to have a network of over 160 VC/Angel syndication partners and has now expanded further with a newly formed Deep-Tech Angel Fund in partnership with SIDBI for AI, Quantum and Advanced Manufacturing.
Through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH), which is the backbone of Andhra Pradesh’s innovations, we have set a target of creating 20,000 startups and 1 lakh jobs in five years with the slogan “One Family, One Entrepreneurship”, said AP’s Education, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh.
Quantum-AI University
The IT minister added that Andhra Pradesh is set to become the AI capital of India.
He noted that India’s first Quantum & AI University is being launched in Amaravati Quantum Valley.
Semiconductors Display Fab in AP
AP’s Minister also met with Seoul Semiconductors Vice President Taehyung Lee wherein he said that more than 40 Korean companies like Kia, LG Electronics, LG Chem, MCNX (camera modules), Solam (AC components), Hwaseong (footwear) have set up their units in Andhra Pradesh.
He similarly apprised them of the project ASIP, approved by the India Semiconductors Mission (ISM) which has entered into a partnership with the Korean company APAC Limited.
Minister Lokesh proposed that Seoul Semiconductors set up its display fab in Sri City or its surrounding areas.
Smart Footwear
In addition, the minister met with Shoealls Company Limited Chairman & CEO Lee Cheong-geun (Mr. Lee Cheong-geun), a renowned medical device certified smart healthcare footwear company from South Korea, in Seoul wherein Shoealls appealed to the government to start the work of the footwear manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh as per the MoU signed with the government.
It was informed that this unit will be set up at a cost of Rs. 300 crore & will provide employment to about 3 thousand people.
AI smart medical footwear is being developed in collaboration with Seoul National University and Ewha Women’s University Medical Center.
EV Charging
In his meeting with Solum Group Global Operations Officer Jeagab Ha, a South Korean electronic shelf labels (ESL), IoT & power electronics manufacturing company, in Seoul Minister Lokesh thanked Solum for constructing an EV charger power modules and automotive electronics unit at a cost of Rs. 338 crore in Sri City, AP.
Mr Lokesh called for accelerating the construction work on the Sricity unit so production can get started.
Similarly, he met with South Korean GaN epitaxy, micro-LED and power electronics material manufacturing company Soft-EPI Company Private Limited CEO Sung Min Hwang and Senior Managing Director In-sung Cho in Seoul.
On this occasion, the Minister appealed to establish a Micro LED Display-Material Hub in AP for display manufacturers by partnering with Indian companies.
