Samsung is set to showcase 15 innovative startups from its C-Lab program at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, taking place from January 6 to 9. This global technology platform will highlight breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and digital health developed by these startups.
The participation underscores Samsung’s commitment to supporting young innovators in expanding their reach worldwide. These startups collectively earned 17 CES Innovation Awards for 2026, including two “Best of Innovation” honors, reflecting the cutting-edge quality of their technologies.
Expanding the Global and Regional Innovation Ecosystem
Byoung Chul Lee, Vice President and Head of Creativity & Innovation Center at Samsung Electronics, emphasized that CES serves as a validation stage for C-Lab startups to accelerate their global growth. He noted that increased involvement from regional startups demonstrates the continuous evolution of the C-Lab ecosystem.
Among the 15 participants, eight come from Samsung Electronics’ C-Lab Outside incubation program. Four are backed by Samsung Financial C-Lab Outside under Samsung Financial Networks, two originate from C-Lab Inside, Samsung Electronics’ internal venture program, and one startup is a result of joint incubation with the Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center.
Regional representation is at an all-time high, with seven startups based in Daegu, Gwangju, and North Gyeongsang Province. Since 2023, Samsung has expanded C-Lab Outside to these cities, helping local startups grow without relocating to Seoul. The program offers workspaces, stage-based consultation, and collaboration opportunities with Samsung and affiliated companies.
Leading Innovations Across Multiple Sectors
The showcased startups will present a variety of state-of-the-art technologies and services. Selectstar, affiliated with Samsung Life Insurance, has developed a copyright-free dataset and a comprehensive AI evaluation platform. Datumo from Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance offers a cyber risk model designed to measure and reduce the financial impact of cyberattacks.
Highly regarded AI-driven projects from C-Lab Inside include ChronoMix, an AI solution for object-centered video composition, and EZ Reco, a generative AI platform that offers expert knowledge-based electronic recommendations.
Key regional startups with notable innovations include:
- Stress Solution (Gyeongbuk): AI-powered personalized mental care voice solutions.
- Deepscent (Gwangju): AI-driven digital aroma solutions customized for individual rooms.
- Elevenliter (Daegu): AI diagnostics for progressive diseases in pets.
- Repla (Gyeongbuk): A plastic recycling startup with its award-winning Puri-Checker device that analyzes plastic composition ratios.
- AunionAI (Gwangju): Web-based AI system for automatic multilingual dubbing and subtitles.
- Univa (Daegu): On-device multimodal large language model solutions.
- 10kM.ai (Daegu Creative Economy Innovation Center): AI-powered enterprise video production solutions.
International Recognition and Future Outlook
The combined 17 CES 2026 Innovation Awards, including those for MangoSlab and StudioLab—spin-offs from C-Lab Inside—highlight Samsung’s internal venture success and technological excellence. Since its inception in 2012, C-Lab has incubated 959 projects and startups, with a goal of surpassing 1,000 participants next year.
Samsung has solidified its position as a leader in fostering startup innovation within South Korea and globally. The dedicated C-Lab exhibition area will be located at Eureka Park in the Venetian Expo, the CES-designated startup zone. This venue offers startups opportunities to engage with investors, buyers, and industry leaders worldwide.
CES 2026 is expected to attract thousands of attendees and showcase pioneering advancements from major global technology companies, further enabling Samsung’s C-Lab startups to gain invaluable exposure and growth potential.
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