All six Busan companies recommended by BCCEI selected for the '2026 TIPS' program

[Financial News] All the companies recommended for the TIPS program—a private investment-led technology startup support program run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups—by Busan’s operator, the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (BCCEI), have been selected for TIPS, marking an impressive achievement.


According to the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation (BCCEI) on the 13th, all six local startups recommended by BCCEI for the '2026 TIPS' program have been selected.
The selected companies are Sasasa, Jobex, C3V, Wit Global, Keep Corporation and Golden Brain Care. Two companies were selected in each of this year's first, second and third evaluation rounds, for a total of six.
This achievement marks a 100% selection rate for BCCEI's first recommendations since it was designated a TIPS operator last October. With non-capital-region startups entering the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS program in succession, the results are also expected to bolster Busan's startup ecosystem.
Under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' TIPS program, an operator identifies promising startups and invests in them first, after which the government provides matching research and development (R&D) funding. Starting this year, R&D support has increased to up to 800 million won over two years, and companies can also receive linked funding for commercialization and overseas marketing.
Keep Corporation and Golden Brain Care, the local companies selected in the final, third round, plan to accelerate technology development and overseas expansion, building on BCCEI's seed investment and their selection for TIPS.
Keep Corporation is a startup that operates Ippuda, an artificial intelligence (AI) medical tourism platform for foreign patients. Its team has the ability to communicate overseas, including in the United States, China and Japan. Following its selection for TIPS, the company plans to enhance the Ippuda platform and develop Sophie AI, an AI medical tourism concierge service, among other efforts, focusing on technology development to attract foreign patients.
Golden Brain Care is a digital healthcare startup co-founded by language rehabilitation specialists with at least 10 years of clinical experience and an AI development team. It has developed and operates Brain Friends, a language and cognitive training platform connecting institutions and homes and serving everyone from children to seniors. The company plans to advance its voice-and-face integrated analysis and training-outcome quantification technologies, and pursue development of a software as a medical device (SaMD).[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter