Hyundai E&C Shares Tech Collaboration Results with 12 Construction Safety Startups

Hyundai Engineering & Construction gathered 12 promising startups poised to revolutionize construction site safety to share collaboration achievements and broaden technology exchange. The company announced on July 9 that it had hosted the "2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Demo Day" on July 8 at Startup Venture Campus Seoul (SVC Seoul) in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

The event was designed to spread safety culture at construction sites and accelerate the practical application of innovative technologies. Approximately 150 attendees were present, including Hyundai E&C executives and employees, representatives from startup support organizations such as the Seoul Business Agency, Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, and Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), as well as construction safety professionals, venture capitalists (VCs), and accelerators (ACs).

The 12 startups that took the stage fell into two main categories. The first group comprised six companies selected through the inaugural "2026 H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge," which launched in March this year. Craps, Muab Motion, Enkia, Construction Partner, Beyond R, and Human & Space showcased technologies poised to elevate construction safety, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), virtual and extended reality (VR/XR), and safety education platforms. The remaining six — Geobi Meta, Seongwoong P&C, Saeim, C-Tech Solution, Sweet & Data, and Silicon Cube — are companies Hyundai E&C had previously discovered through its existing open innovation programs and with which it continues to collaborate.

The event featured startup investment presentations (IR) and collaboration case studies centered on four areas: safety innovation technology, safety equipment, safety culture, and health and environment. The collaboration results presented directly by C-Tech Solution and Silicon Cube drew particular attention. C-Tech Solution introduced a mobile-based multilingual safety and health education platform, sharing expertise on delivering safety training without language barriers at construction sites with large numbers of foreign workers. Silicon Cube presented field application results for its AI video analytics-based construction equipment license plate recognition and automated inspection system, demonstrating the potential of smart construction site management.

Participating companies also demonstrated their innovative technologies at dedicated exhibition booths and held one-on-one business meetings with construction industry and investment professionals, exploring possibilities for future collaboration and investment.

The "H-Safe Open Innovation Challenge" is a program introduced for the first time this year, combining efforts from the government, local authorities, and a major private construction company to discover innovative enterprises in the construction safety sector and expand the on-site application of superior technologies. In January this year, Hyundai E&C signed a business agreement with the Seoul Business Agency, Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center, and KICT to oversee the program's planning and operation. The partner organizations are responsible for commercialization and follow-up support program linkages, backing the startups' growth.

Since 2022, Hyundai E&C has been actively fostering an innovation ecosystem in the construction industry by operating various open innovation programs, including startup competitions. Last year alone, the company selected a total of 48 startups through 15 programs and is pursuing multifaceted collaboration, including proof of concept (PoC), joint R&D, joint commercialization, and new product development.

A Hyundai E&C representative emphasized, "This Demo Day was an opportunity to share collaboration results with startups possessing innovative technologies in the construction safety field and for the construction industry and startup ecosystem to jointly explore cooperation measures. We will continue to expand technology validation and on-site application with outstanding startups, contributing to the creation of a construction safety innovation ecosystem and the spread of safety culture."