Alibaba Cloud, the core of digital technology and intelligence of the Alibaba Group, declared a partnership with Next Challenge Foundation, a Korean startup accelerator. Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU), the two organizations aspire to advance the digital transformation of Korean startups and expedite their entry into global markets. 💼👩‍💻

Through this collaboration, Alibaba Cloud aims to deliver cloud-related education, training, and professional consulting services to exceptional Korean startups nominated by the Next Challenge Foundation. Moreover, these startups can gain advanced cloud computing technology and ecosystem support from Alibaba Cloud, along with invitations to partake in official Alibaba Cloud events locally and internationally. This could help capitalize on opportunities to expand overseas through Alibaba Cloud’s ecosystem.

This alliance between the two entities empowers eligible Korean startups to benefit from a more streamlined entry into overseas markets, specifically in Southeast Asia. With the most extensive presence of data centers in Southeast Asia, Alibaba Cloud is the leading global public cloud service provider. ☁️🌏

"The demand for cloud products and services is on the rise among Korean startups as more companies accelerate their migration process to cloud computing," said Unique Song, Regional General Manager of Japan & Korea, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. "We look forward to assisting more leading Korean startups to actualize their potential for swift growth and international expansion through this partnership."

"Korea is home to numerous excellent startups that are rich in creativity, innovation, and grit," expressed Young-rock Kim, CEO of Next Challenge Foundation. "Leveraging the vast experience, superior global capabilities, and the accumulated startup support expertise of both organizations, we aim to actively aid in the discovery and development of promising startups and promote the excellence of K-startups through access to the global market.”

Alibaba Cloud first ventured into the Korean market in 2016 and established its first data center in the country in March 2022. By integrating proven technologies from Alibaba’s ecosystem, the company serves a diverse array of domestic customers in various sectors, including retail, finance, media, entertainment, and internet companies through 86 availability zones across 28 regions worldwide.

Recently, the Next Challenge Foundation opened a new Next Challenge Seoul Global Center (SGC) near Ewha Womans University and launched local branches in Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand to identify local partners. Moreover, in March, it was appointed as the principal agency for the "2023 Global Business Collaboration Program - Gateway Sector" sponsored by the Small and Medium Business Administration's Startup Promotion Institute, to actively support the global expansion of promising startups.

🌱 About Next Challenge Foundation

Next Challenge Foundation is an accelerator foundation pioneering the public-private governance of the startup ecosystem and has seen rapid growth as a global startup accelerator since its inception four years ago. It focuses on nurturing innovative startup talents through reinforcing the startup education ecosystem, accelerating domestic and foreign startups through company building, fortifying the network of startup ecosystem stakeholders, and aiming at domestic startups' entry into ASEAN through overseas subsidiaries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore.