□ Student startups Quester (CEO Jeongwu Lee) and Lmntic Biotech (CEO Dongwhan Ryu) from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST; President Kunwoo Lee) won the Top Excellence and Excellence Prizes at the 2025 R&D Special Zone Science Technology Startup Investment Competition.
□ To support deep tech startups and promote investment in national strategic technologies, the competition was jointly hosted by the Korea Innovation Foundation and Mirae Holdings, involving five universities specializing in science and technology (KAIST, GIST, DGIST, UNIST, and POSTECH) and the Korea Development Bank. Six teams made it to the finals, which means only one survived out of every 4.5 teams. More importantly, two student startups from DGIST won the prizes.
□ Quester, which won the Top Excellence Prize, showcased its technology “High Precision Hand Tracking Interface for Robotics Foundation Model Training.” Motiglove, a glove-like device that precisely tracks hand gestures, won the CES 2025 Innovation Award and is scalable to a wide range of applications, including robot training, job training, healthcare, military, and manufacturing, based on its proprietary VIST (integrated vision and IMU sensors) technology. “By achieving world-class technology in hand data and software, which are critical in the era of physical AI, we will grow into an irreplaceable company,” said CEO Jeongwu Lee.
□ Lmntic Biotech, which was awarded the Excellence Award, unveiled its innovative technology based on the One-Step Ultra-Pure CTC Liquid Biopsy Platform. It was founded in 2022 by CEO Dongwhan Ryu with his alumni, who finished an undergraduate program in DGIST. The company is developing a precise cell control and diagnosis platform based on the original technology developed by Professor Cheolgi Kim at the Department of Physics and Chemistry. Its micro-magnetophoresis technology can isolate tiny amounts of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the blood in a single step with over 90% purity and is expected to overcome the limitations of traditional pathology tests and contribute to personalized treatment. The company is about to launch its research product and has obtained 15 letters of intent from domestic hospitals and clinics. “As our liquid biopsy solution can greatly reduce R&D time, there will be great opportunities for joint development with pharmaceutical companies,” said CEO Dongwhan Ryu.
□ “This achievement is an example of DGIST student entrepreneurs’ original technology and growth potential recognized across the country,” said Director Jaehyung Koo of the Office of Research & University-Industry Collaboration, DGIST. “We will continue to fully support great technology to foster the creation of startups and attract investments.”
□ Meanwhile, a total of KRW 12 million in prize money and the Korea Innovation Foundation Chairman Award were awarded at the award ceremony of the competition held on Sep 9, 2025. Furthermore, systematic growth support programs are provided, including (i) technology-business model verification, (ii) expert mentoring, (iii) follow-up investment connections, and (iv) global market entry support. In particular, the startups that won the Grand Prize and Top Excellence Prize will receive a direct investment opportunity of up to KRW 1 billion from Mirae Holdings, and the startup that won the Excellence Prize will receive a follow-up investment review and support for expansion across the world.
