Daegu’s Strategic Pivot to AI-Driven Industry
The Future Innovation Tech Expo (FIX) 2025, scheduled for October in Daegu, South Korea, represents a significant milestone in the city’s transformation into a global artificial intelligence powerhouse. Under the theme “The Future Already Begun, All on AI,” the event showcases how traditional manufacturing strongholds can successfully integrate cutting-edge digital technologies to maintain competitive advantage in rapidly evolving global markets.
Acting Mayor Jeong-gi Kim emphasized the expo’s strategic importance: “This year’s event not only marks quantitative growth but also demonstrates qualitative progress as a global innovation technology exhibition. With the recent approval of the Regional AX Innovation Technology Development Project, expectations for AI-driven transformation among local industries are high. We will ensure that FIX 2025 serves as the catalyst for innovation and the renewed growth of Daegu’s industrial ecosystem.”
Expanding Global Footprint
The 2025 edition demonstrates substantial growth with 585 participating companies, up from 544 in 2024, including 117 international exhibitors representing approximately 20% of total participants. This expansion reflects growing global interest in Korea’s approach to industrial automation and technological innovation. The timing coincides with significant market trends favoring regions that successfully bridge traditional manufacturing with digital transformation.
Mobility Revolution: DIFA Section
The Daegu International Future Auto & Mobility (DIFA) section presents a comprehensive view of how electrification, AI, and automation are fundamentally reshaping transportation systems. The exhibition covers Urban Air Mobility (UAM), electric and hydrogen vehicles, autonomous driving, secondary cell batteries, and next-generation mobility services.
Major participants include Hyundai Motor, GM Korea, BYD, Porsche, Volkswagen, HL Robotics, Valeo, and Daedong. A dedicated UAM pavilion will offer visitors flight-simulation experiences, providing hands-on exposure to low-altitude mobility concepts that represent the future of urban transportation. These developments align with broader related innovations in smart infrastructure and connectivity.
Robotics Expansion Beyond Factory Walls
The robotics segment demonstrates Korea’s ambitious push to extend automation beyond traditional manufacturing settings. AeiRobot will showcase “Alice,” described as Korea’s first humanoid robot developed specifically for shipbuilding and construction applications. Company Co-founder and Hanyang University professor Jae Kwon Han will present on practical deployment in hazardous environments, highlighting safety improvements and efficiency gains.
The Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement (KIRIA) will display three humanoid prototypes within a scaled-down version of the national robot test field, part of Korea’s comprehensive effort to standardize safety protocols and certification processes. This approach to industry developments demonstrates how Asian technological powers are addressing similar challenges through different strategic frameworks.
Digital Backbone: ITCE Section
The Information Technology & Content Expo (ITCE) section serves as the digital foundation of FIX 2025, covering Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Blockchain (ABB), alongside ICT, cybersecurity, semiconductors, and metaverse applications. Within the National AI Pavilion, several Korean firms will showcase models and platforms developed independently from foreign technology providers, representing a strategic “sovereign AI” approach designed to strengthen local control over critical data and algorithms.
This focus on technological independence comes amid global discussions about recent technology sovereignty and the geopolitical implications of AI development. The integrated presentation of software, semiconductors, and secure data systems demonstrates how Korea’s comprehensive AI infrastructure is rapidly taking shape.
Startup Ecosystem and Global Partnerships
The Start-Up Arena combines two established programs—Play & Plug Expo Korea and the Global Innovator Festa (GIF)—to connect early-stage companies with large corporations and international investors. Play & Plug facilitates partnerships and proof-of-concept projects between established manufacturers and innovative startups, while GIF adds open hackathons, idea pitches, and student competitions, creating vital pathways from university research to commercial application.
Through cooperation with KOTRA, organizers expect 53 verified international buyers from the United States, Canada, Germany, and Japan, significantly up from 29 in 2024. A Large Corporation Purchase Consultation Meeting, coordinated with the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, will include HD Hyundai, Hanwha, SK hynix, LG Energy Solution, and POSCO DX, offering startups direct procurement channels into major industrial supply chains. This ecosystem development reflects similar industry developments in technology investment models across Asia.
Strategic Implications and Global Context
FIX 2025 arrives as Daegu accelerates AI research and pilot programs across mobility, robotics, and semiconductors following central government approval of the Regional AX Innovation Technology Development Project. The expo’s comprehensive approach demonstrates how traditional industrial centers can successfully pivot to embrace digital transformation while leveraging existing manufacturing strengths.
As highlighted in coverage of Daegu’s technological transformation, the city’s strategic positioning at the intersection of traditional manufacturing expertise and cutting-edge AI development creates unique opportunities for international partnerships and knowledge exchange. The overlapping mobility and semiconductor ecosystems emerging under Daegu’s AI Transformation framework represent a model other industrial regions may emulate as they navigate their own digital transitions.
The convergence of these technologies at FIX 2025 positions Daegu as a critical testbed for integrated AI applications that bridge physical industrial systems with digital innovation, creating a blueprint for sustainable technological advancement in traditionally manufacturing-dependent economies.
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