Nine South Korean Startups Pitch for Spot in Disrupt 2027

Nine early-stage South Korean startups working across deep tech sectors like healthcare, fintech, energy, semiconductors, and AI pitched their products at the DETO 2026 conference in Seoul. The competition aimed to earn a spot in the Startup Battlefield 200 at the upcoming Disrupt 2027 conference, giving these companies exposure to international venture capitalists and the tech community as they plan U.S. market entry and global expansion. Voinosis emerged as the winner of the local pitch competition. Founded by former otologic surgeon Grace Shin, the startup has developed an AI tool that analyzes speech patterns to detect changes in brain health. Other participating startups included Awesome Lab, which makes a water electrolysis heating system; Crosshub, which focuses on borderless identity verification and payments; DeepFusion AI, a developer of 4D radar imaging systems; and EFLOW, which creates high-torque compact motors.