Each year, hundreds of companies from around the globe compete for a spot in TechCrunch’s “Startup Battlefield 200″—a prestigious opportunity to pitch to venture capitalists and the international tech community at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.
This week, nine early-stage South Korean startups delivered pitches at the DETO 2026 tech conference in Seoul, vying for a place in next year’s Startup Battlefield 200.
These startups span various deep-tech sectors, including healthcare, fintech, energy, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence. As part of their broader international expansion strategies, all nine companies are looking to enter the U.S. market.
Voinosis won the competition with its AI technology, which uses voice analysis to detect changes in brain health. The other eight startups are listed below in alphabetical order.
Voinosis
Voinosis is developing an AI tool that analyzes speech patterns—such as tone, pauses, rhythm, and reaction time—to detect changes related to brain health. Each voice assessment takes less than five minutes to complete.
The company states that its technology has been tested in Greek, Japanese, and English, and that the product does not require separate training for each language. In a clinical study involving 146 participants, the startup reported an 88% accuracy rate in screening for potential cognitive issues.
Voinosis’s target customers include hospitals, elderly care facilities, insurance companies, and individual consumers. The company also plans to integrate its voice-based detection with cognitive training, assessments, and treatments provided by healthcare professionals.
This startup was founded by Grace Shin, who spent over 25 years working as an otolaryngologist. The company is currently in the midst of a Series A funding round and has successfully secured a South Korean pharmaceutical firm as a strategic investor.
Awesome Lab
Seoul-based Awesome Lab produces “ThermoFlux,” a heating system that generates heat through the electrolysis and ionization of water. The system can be used for heating in buildings, water supply systems, and industrial processes. According to the company, its technology helps reduce both energy consumption and carbon emissions.
To expand into international markets, Awesome Lab has adopted tailored strategies for each region. In the United States, the company plans to supply core OEM modules and collaborate with manufacturers of boilers, water heaters, and HVAC systems on product development.
Crosshub
Crosshub assists travelers and international visitors in verifying their identities and setting up payment methods for use abroad. Its platform, IDBlock, integrates identity verification with payment services, utilizing Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and zero-knowledge proof technologies.
The company states that its platform enables users to verify their identity across borders without sharing unnecessary personal information. Crosshub also integrates this technology with payment systems to improve travelers’ access to financial services.
DeepFusion AI
DeepFusion AI has developed a 4D radar-based imaging system, augmented by additional sensors, designed for use in autonomous mobility, robotaxis, maritime surveillance, and defense applications. The system combines radio-frequency sensors with radar and LiDAR, allowing for the detection of objects, movement, or distance without requiring a direct line of sight. All sensors are reportedly integrated into a single, customizable unit.
EFLOW
EFLOW has developed specialized electric motors capable of generating higher torque (rotational force) while occupying less space. These motors are intended for use in robotics, drones, satellites, and other mobile applications. The startup also develops actuators used to control the movement of robotic joints.
Otiton Medical
Otiton Medical produces two types of medical devices: one designed for measuring body temperature, and another capable of capturing images of the ear canal and analyzing the eardrum. The company states that its AI system was trained on approximately 55,000 images of eardrums, and the device has received medical certification in South Korea.
Riibotics
Riibotics claims it can deploy robots into a warehouse within a single day. By streamlining the deployment process—which includes infrastructure setup, warehouse mapping, system integration via custom middleware, task programming, and safety inspections—Riibotics aims to reduce the costs associated with warehouse automation deployment.
Ternell
Ternell, a semiconductor startup based in Ulsan, is developing a new type of memory designed to help AI chips reduce power consumption.
Unlike traditional two-state memory, Ternell’s T-SRAM system incorporates a third state, enabling more efficient data storage. Ternell was founded in 2019 by KyungRok Kim, a former engineer at Samsung Electronics. The company reports that tests conducted using 28-nanometer chips show a 33% to 102% increase in storage capacity per unit area compared to conventional SRAM, alongside a 55% to 71% reduction in the energy required to access data. Testbank is a South Korean edtech startup that developed “Solve,” an application capable of converting printed study materials—such as workbooks and exam preparation books—into interactive digital versions.
This startup uses artificial intelligence to identify question and answer sections within publishers’ PDF files, while preserving the original layout. Solve allows users to fill in their answers directly on the page and provides automatic grading.