Nearthlab's drone station / Courtesy of Nearthlab

LAS VEGAS — Korean startups are vying for the attention of global audiences and investors at the CES 2025 tech trade show in Las Vegas, exhibiting their fresh ideas that could result in a breakthrough innovation.

According to the Consumer Technology Association, the organizer of CES, it has selected 19 companies for this year's Best of Innovation awards, including three Korean startups — Ghost Pass, Suprema AI and Nearthlab.

Ghost Pass won the Best of Innovation in FinTech, with its decentralized on-device biometric authentication solution, which securely stores users' biometric information on their own smartphones.

This makes third-party access to users' biometric information structurally impossible, as it does not use conventional storage methods such as servers or the cloud. This means that massive information leaks can be prevented fundamentally.

Supreme AI won the award with its Q-Vision Pro on-device AI module designed to install AI systems in ATMs to prevent financial crimes such as voice phishing.

Using facial recognition and behavior analysis, it allows ATMs to predict potential crimes such as voice phishing and prevents illegal transactions.

With its multi-layer data encryption technology, the solution allows an ATM to support up to 50,000 users even when it is not connected to the network.

Nearthlab won the Best of Innovation in Drones with its Drone First Responder Station, an advanced drone base that allows drones to autonomously return to the base and change batteries. It also integrates with police operation systems to autonomously obtain flight authorization, enabling drones to act as immediate responders in critical situations.

Including the award-winning firms, more than 640 Korean startups will participate in CES 2025 boasting their technologies in clean tech and robotics.

Of them, Green Whale Global will showcase its bioplastic products mixed with biodegradable materials derived from cassava and corn, which are compostable materials.

Tesollo's Delto Gripper-5F / Courtesy of Tesollo

Tesollo will exhibit its robot hand Gripper. It has five fingers with 20 individually maneuverable joints, allowing it to precisely grasp objects ranging from thin business cards to heavy objects weighing up to 13 kilograms.

AEONUS will present its mobile energy storage system Indego, which features a modular design that allows multiple units to be easily interconnected, achieving a maximum output of up to 500 kilowatts.

Along with the companies, the Korean government, Hyundai Motor Group and POSCO Group will each set up their own booths to promote promising Korean startups and assist their networking with global investors.