SparkLabs will launch their new Internet of Things (IoT) accelerator in Songdo by early next year. The project is in partnership with the company behind South Korea’s $35bn Songdo International Business District (IBD).
SparkLabs co-founder and general partner HanJoo Lee said: "We believe a critical component of the IoT accelerator will be to provide a test bed for our companies.
"Songdo IBD provides a robust test bed of more than 35,000 residents, and within one of the most technologically advanced and wired cities in the world.
"The new Internet of Things programme from SparkLabs will be open to any startup in the world and plans to be housed in both Seoul and Songdo."
Claimed to be one of the world’s most technologically superior and environmentally responsible cities, Songdo IBD is a ‘smart’ city built on 1,500 acres of domestic land. The city has around 14 million SF of LEED-certified space.
Through collaboration with several Korean and US firms including Cisco Systems, LG CNS and ADT Caps, the smart city currently serves as a test bed for public and private ‘smart’ city offerings, services, and technologies.
New Songdo International City Development (NSIC) chairman Stan Gale said: "This partnership builds on our existing ecosystem of world-class corporate, governmental, and academic partners.
"With the IoT accelerator pioneering cutting-edge technologies in Songdo IBD, we are confident that our population of early adopters will embrace the new technologies that are developed by SparkLabs."
