Road to CES 2026: GBSA Roadmap for the Next High-Tech Leap

The Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator, or GBSA, is a non-profit organization funded by South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province (map link) that offers tailored support—such as mentoring, workspace, funding, and global networking—to innovative startups and small-to-medium enterprises in the region. GBSA focuses on fostering specialized, high-growth industries and preparing some of its participants for global stages, such as CES 2026. (Photo courtesy of Aving News Network)

One of GBSA’s key sectors is mobility, which in the context of the automotive industry refers to technologies and services that enable the movement of people and goods—think electric vehicles, autonomous driving, shared-ride services, and the infrastructure that supports them.

In Pangyo, GBSA has helped launch a real-road autonomous driving testbed known as “Pangyo Zero City,” a purpose‑built, real‑world testing environment for autonomous driving technologies, complete with a 10.8 km route and IoT infrastructure for testing mobility technologies (V2X, sensors etc.) alongside regular traffic. It functions as an open platform, real-world lab, where self-driving vehicles (ADVs) and related mobility services can be developed, tested, and validated before full-scale market launch.

It is hoped that such an open (to many enterprises) proving ground will help accelerate the development of various autonomous mobility technologies, and demonstrate their safety to the population to induce faster acceptance.

To try things even faster, there’s the SHARK digital twin simulation platform (SHARK stands for Seongnam High-tech Autonomous Road FrameworK). With it, startups, universities and research institutes can virtually put autonomous cars, drones and robots through their paces in a virtual twin of the real world. In Pangyo Techno Valley, these same innovators—specializing in self-driving systems, aerial drones and robotics—work side by side on collaborative R&D projects and then take their prototypes straight into live testing on nearby roads and facilities.

GBSA also places a strong emphasis on the startup ecosystem emerging around the third Pangyo Techno Valley. Here, startups, large corporations, public institutions, universities, and research institutes work together in a step-by-step growth model. Companies can move from seed-stage incubation to scale-up through customized spaces, structured mentoring programs, and events like “Pan-Pan Day,” (see video below) and access to public-private accelerators. This organic convergence creates a virtuous circle: as startups succeed, they attract more talent, funding, and collaboration, which in turn fuels further innovation.

For those new to the Pangyo Techno Valley (aka Pangyo TV) story, it began in 2011 when the first phase opened as an R&D hub for IT, biotech, and cultural technology. The second valley was designated in November 2015 to expand this innovation cluster, with its first phase completed in late 2019 to bring in more startups and mid-sized firms. The third valley was slated for completion by 2022. Today, the overall Pangyo Techno Valley, is a key driver of Korea’s tech ecosystem.

Pangyo Techno Valley 3 is dedicated to providing cutting-edge startups with the resources they need to thrive in high-tech fields. It will carve out dedicated clusters for system semiconductor and fabless design companies, offering everything from lab space to hands-on innovation support. At the same time, future mobility firms—working on autonomous driving, drones, AI and robotics—will gain access to real-world testbeds and verification infrastructure so they can refine their technologies in realistic settings.

And because today’s most exciting ideas often blend gaming, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and other advanced IT technologies, there will be plenty of opportunities for developers in those areas to tap into networking events, technical workshops and shared workspaces designed to spark collaboration.

That said, other sectors are also welcome: bio-health ventures with specialized facilities and mentorship programs tailored to medical and life sciences research. Renewable energy startups, especially those focused on solar power, will find growth-stage funding and development support.

In 2024, a lot was achieved: Pangyo Techno Valleys 1 and 2 are home to 1,803 companies, marking an (+11% growth YoY). It now counts 79,000 employees, for which 60% are in their 20s and 30s among whom 32.6% are Researchers. Women represent 29.8% of the workforce, which is comparable to Silicon Valley in California.

GBSA has a global outlook, which is why they are meeting with international observers like Ubergizmo, and why there’s an emphasis on the upcoming CES 2026. In fact, there are even a number of Pangyo TV startups who have foreigner CEOs, and that’s something entrepreneurs worldwide should take into consideration for the current or next venture. Would they be better off with the expertise and support found in the Pangyo TV? That’s a question worth asking, and meeting the GBSA team at CES should be a top networking priority for some startups.

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