The global technology company, Samsung, has entered into a partnership with Prototron, an Estonian fund for prototyping; in each round, the Korean company will donate €10,000 for technology-based ideas and also support testing opportunities, clients and investors.
“Getting onboard among other supporters shows that a big and international company as Samsung sees great potential in Estonian technology talents. I really hope that teams and ideas marked by Samsung will take it as a quality label,” Jana Pavlenkova, the CEO of Prototron, said in a statement.
“The Startup Membership programme was initiated by Samsung Research Russia to develop partnerships between technology startups and Samsung Electronics departments with the aim to create mutually beneficial cooperation,” Jin Wook Lee, the vice president of Samung Electronics and the CEO of Samsung Research Russia, added.
“We are pleased to become partners of a reputable and successful foundation and support promising ideas of entrepreneurs from Estonia. By expanding the geography of the Samsung Startup Membership programme, we are contributing to the further development of the global digital economy.”
In each round, Samsung will give €10,000 for technology-based ideas and will support finding a testing opportunities, clients and investors.
Prototron was created by Swedbank Estonia, the Tallinn University of Technology and the Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol at 2012 to help turn smart and innovative ideas into tangible prototypes to grow into major businesses. So far in total, 68 idea prototypes have been supported in total amount more than €833,000, according to the fund.
Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Seoul. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and it is the largest South Korean business conglomerate.
Cover: Prototron’s reps with a prototype of Lumebot, an autonomous street cleaning robot, in Tallinn, May 2019 (the image is illustrative).
