Samsung to highlight regional startups as it expands C-Lab presence at CES 2026

Samsung Electronics' C-Lab exhibition hall at CES 2025/ Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
SEOUL, December 29 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics will expand its startup program footprint at next year’s CES by bringing 15 C-Lab startups — including the largest number of regional teams to date — to the global tech show, signaling the company’s continued shift toward broader ecosystem-building rather than in-house product promotion.

The companies will showcase AI, robotics and digital-health technologies inside Eureka Park at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, where Samsung will operate a dedicated C-Lab booth from Jan. 6 to 9. Of the 15 teams, seven are based in Daegu, Gwangju and North Gyeongsang Province, marking the highest level of regional participation since the program began exhibiting at CES in 2016.

C-Lab — Samsung’s startup incubation initiative launched in 2012 — now encompasses internal ventures, external startups and region-specific programs. The 2026 lineup includes eight C-Lab Outside startups, two C-Lab Inside projects, one team fostered with the Daegu Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, and four startups selected through Samsung Financial Networks’ incubation scheme.

Startup teams will present services ranging from automated cooking robots and multimodal AI language models to pet-health analytics, digital scent solutions and cyber-risk assessment tools. Several C-Lab affiliated firms also won CES 2026 Innovation Awards this year, including two that received the show’s top honors.

Samsung has expanded C-Lab Outside into Daegu, Gwangju and North Gyeongsang since 2023, aiming to create a pipeline that enables regional startups to grow without relocating to Seoul. The company provides workspace, consulting support and access to Samsung’s broader business network. To date, 40 regional startups have been incubated under the program.

The exhibition will also feature two internal C-Lab Inside projects focused on AI-driven video editing and expert-based product-recommendation engines. Samsung says it views CES as a testing ground for early-stage concepts developed by employees before commercial viability is assessed.

Since its launch, C-Lab has supported 959 internal and external teams, a figure projected to surpass 1,000 next year.
Candice Kim 기자 candicekim1121@ajupress.com