News
LIG D&A hosts inaugural “Tech Summit” to “forge new connections across K-Defense Innovation Ecosystem”
2026.04.28
- Attended by over 90 participants, including CEOs of startups funded by Defense Innovation Fund and key suppliers
- CEO Shin Ik-Hyun: “determined to combine startup creativity with supplier experience to transform the defense industry”
- Discussions on sharing advanced technologies, such as AI, space, and robotics, and exploring actionable collaboration and commercialization opportunities
LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A) has joined forces with startups and suppliers to build a “shared-growth innovation ecosystem” for the sustainable growth of the Korean defense industry (“K-Defense”).
LIG D&A announced that it held its first “Tech Summit” on April 27, at the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul. The event brought together promising startups backed by the Defense Innovation Fund, established suppliers, and LIG D&A in one place to explore the military application of advanced technologies to defense and elaborate on a shared growth model.
More than 90 participants attended the summit, including the CEOs of 20 pioneering startups invested in by the Defense Innovation Fund I, such as Dabeeo, Lincsolution, and PABLO AIR, alongside the CEOs of 32 key LIG D&A suppliers, and LIG D&A President and CEO Shin Ik-Hyun, other executives and staff. The participants engaged in in-depth discussions on pathways to shared growth.
- Innovative DNA of the private sector meets the defense industry’s proven infrastructure
The main focus of the summit was on combining the “creative technologies” of startups and the “accumulated manufacturing capabilities” of suppliers with the “integration expertise” of LIG D&A as a system integrator.
In his congratulatory remarks, CEO Shin Ik-hyun said, “The rapid execution and flexible thinking of startups are invaluable assets that our defense industry must embrace.” He continued, “The essence of this summit goes beyond simply buying technology—it is about learning their speed, agility, and willingness to take on challenges, and then bringing those to life on the solid production foundations of our suppliers.” The participating startups showcased their unrivaled proprietary technologies, including AI-driven satellite imagery analysis (Dabeeo), autonomous swarm flight control (PABLO AIR), and 3D printing for defense/aerospace (Lincsolution). As for the suppliers, they explored practical opportunities to help these emerging technologies navigate through the defense industry’s stringent quality standards and testing and evaluation processes toward eventual operational deployment.
- Committed to expanding the ecosystem through KRW 43.2 billion in Defense Innovation Fund and the launch of a second fund
The Defense Innovation Fund, created jointly by LIG D&A, the Military Mutual Aid Association, and IBK Capital, has firmly established itself as a specialized investment fund for the defense industry. Now in its third year of operation, the fund had invested a total of KRW 43.2 billion in 20 companies as of April 2026, serving as a bridge that lowers barriers to entry into the defense industry for promising companies. The startup CEOs unanimously agreed that the Tech Summit had been highly valuable in navigating the security requirements and high entry barriers unique to the defense sector. Park Ju-hum, CEO of Dabeeo, commented, “It is particularly encouraging that a major systems integrator has taken the initiative to create a launchpad for startup technologies to be incorporated into defense programs.”
- Beyond investment: creating tangible business synergies
Going beyond financial investment, LIG D&A’s Defense Innovation Fund is fleshing out a range of collaboration models to enable portfolio companies' technologies to be translated into actual defense projects and product development. LIG D&A is collaborating with satellite imagery analytics company Dabeeo primarily on a microsatellite system program, while also exploring additional business opportunities in AI-enabled satellite surveillance and reconnaissance.
The company has also been working with AI data platform provider Dtonic to improve the usability of defense data and operational efficiency following the signing of an agreement last December to build an AI data platform. Additionally, LIG D&A is collaborating with drone swarm specialist PABLO AIR under software and hardware agreements covering swarm coordination and autonomous flight technologies to further advance autonomous swarm flight and mission execution capabilities for unmanned aerial systems.
With AI platform developer Persona AI, the company is exploring the application and testing of AI voice-based control technology on Ghost Robotics’ quadruped robots. It is also continuing contract-based cooperation with launch vehicle company INNOSPACE in the space and launch vehicle areas, including simulated launch vehicles.
- Tech Summit to become a regular event to nurture “Korean Anduril”
LIG D&A plans to make the Tech Summit a regular event rather than a one-off initiative, with the goal of generating tangible outcomes that lead to joint development and production. In particular, the company intends to play an active “incubating” role in fostering a new generation of homegrown defense tech innovators that can shift defense paradigms, backed by private capital and breakthrough technologies—much like US-based defense tech unicorns Anduril and Shield AI.
CEO Shin Ik-hyun stated, “I hope the connections forged today will serve as a catalyst that goes beyond individual corporate achievements to transform the entire Korean defense ecosystem.” He added, “We will pave the way for companies with innovative technologies so that they are not held back by high entry barriers and take the lead in driving both the quantitative and qualitative growth of ‘K-Defense’ through the launch of our second fund.”