Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT)
Offers commercialization and innovation support through research infrastructure, entrepreneurship guidance, and startup pathways.
KIAT (Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology) is South Korea's industrial-technology programme management agency, operating under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). It manages over KRW 2 trillion in annual industrial R&D funding and oversees more than 1,000 industry projects per year, with a TRL 5-9 commercialisation focus that distinguishes it from upstream basic-research bodies (NRF, IITP).
KIAT was established in 2009 through the consolidation of six predecessor bodies (ITEP, KOTEF, KTTC, IITA, KMAC, KIDP). Its programme portfolio spans AI-in-manufacturing, advanced materials, energy technology, shipbuilding, regional industry clusters, and international R&D cooperation. KIAT is the EUREKA National Contact Point for Korea, runs annual EUREKA Day Korea events since 2011, and manages bilateral joint-R&D programmes with EU member states, the United States, Israel, and Asian partners. It also administers MOTIE's Industrial Technology Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget and the KIAT-managed Global Industrial Technology Cooperation Center (GITCC) programme on behalf of KEIT.
Under the K-Moonshot framework KIAT serves as the institutional bridge between research and industrial outcome — funding pilot production lines, qualified products, and commercial deployments tied to the 12 national missions (AI accelerator chips, multi-junction solar modules, SMR vessels, rare earth elements, humanoid robots, etc.).