International Joint R&D Program — Phase 2 Full Collaboration
Funds Korean small businesses in full-scale joint technology development with established overseas partners.
TIPA (Technology Innovation Promotion Agency for SMEs), operating under Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups, administers the International Joint R&D Program to help Korean small and medium enterprises co-develop technologies with established overseas research partners. The program runs in two sequential phases: Phase 1 provides a seed award of KRW 110 million to establish the partnership and complete proof-of-concept work, while Phase 2 (Full Collaboration) scales to a maximum of KRW 1.39 billion disbursed over 2.5 years for substantive joint development. In 2026, TIPA manages its SME R&D portfolio within a record combined MSS budget of KRW 2.2 trillion, and applications for Phase 2 are submitted through the SMTECH portal (www.smtech.go.kr) and the IRIS system.
Eligibility for Phase 2 is strictly limited to Korean SMEs that have already completed Phase 1 under the same overseas partner — new applicants must enter through Phase 1 first. The lead entity must be a for-profit Korean SME; universities, non-profits, and research-only organizations are not eligible as lead applicants. The overseas R&D partner is a required consortium member, and historical examples include U.S. research universities such as the University of Illinois. All documentation and applications are submitted in Korean. Specific 2026 Phase 2 deadline dates are published on SMTECH/IRIS and are not fixed in advance on the English-language TIPA site.
The program targets sectors where Korean SMEs hold emerging technology competencies, including AI infrastructure, hardware, IoT, advanced manufacturing, materials science, medtech, robotics, and semiconductors. Competitive strength lies in prior Phase 1 performance, clarity of the collaborative R&D plan, and the complementary capabilities of the overseas partner. TIPA's evaluator pool of 30,000 reviewers and a 2026 streamlined application process (required documents reduced from 20 to ten or fewer) improve processing speed. Applicants should confirm open call dates on SMTECH and verify partner eligibility before preparing documentation.
Korean SME-led joint R&D with an established overseas partner — Phase 2 full collaboration providing up to KRW 1.39B over 2.5 years, open only to Phase 1 completers.
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