MIT GSW 2026 is built around three transformative themes: Deep Tech and Industrial Transformation, Sustainability and Inclusion, and Glocal Entrepreneurship, which highlight the key areas driving global change. These themes explore the innovative ideas, groundbreaking technologies, and collaborative solutions shaping a better future. Attendees will engage with thought leaders, explore real-world applications, and gain insights into how to create lasting impact in these critical areas.
MIT GSW 2026 delves into three transformative areas shaping the future: Deep Tech and Industrial Transformation, Sustainability and Inclusion, and Global Entrepreneurship. Join discussions on advanced technologies, scalable innovation, and cross-border entrepreneurship that address real-world challenges. Be part of a global conversation that drives action and supports long-term economic, technological, and societal progress.
Transforming South Korea's technological strengths into global opportunity: from AI and semiconductors to advanced manufacturing, this theme will explore how deep tech can boost innovation, entrepreneurship, and the industrial ecosystem.
Innovating for a livable planet: this theme will delve into emerging solutions for energy, mobility, and climate challenges, as well as the new digital and financial tools that can drive social inclusion and equitable growth.
Empowering entrepreneurs and connecting the world: this theme will decode the rapid changes in the skills and tools available to startups and founders, unlocking unprecedented new opportunities to build and scale across regions.
Learn from industry leaders, successful founders, and innovation pioneers
Executive Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center
Ben Armstrong is the executive director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center, where he co-leads the Work of the Future initiative. His research examines how workers, firms, and regions adapt to technological change. His current projects include a working group on generative AI, as well as a book on American manufacturing competitiveness. His work has been published or featured in academic and popular outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, and Sloan Management Review. He received his PhD from MIT and formerly worked at Google Inc.
Co-Founder and GP, milemark•capital
Sebastian Barriga, in his role as founder and GP at milemark•capital, invests in and mentors early-stage startup founders from MIT and Harvard, deploying deep AI models rooted in scientific research. He is a mentor in accelerator programs, such as Techstars Boston, The Engine Blueprint, MIT delta v, MIT designX, NYU's Endless Frontier Lab, among others. He's invested in 30+ startups via his fund and individually; he also has PE investing and board experience in 8 large enterprises in his role with The Carlyle Group. Seb also has experience as interim CFO of a publicly-traded Brazilian animal-protein company during a turnaround situation. His initial experience includes 10 years in Investment Banking including Citigroup / Salomon Brothers. He currently serves on the board of a Nike distributor in South America, an AI consulting firm in Chile and an Explainable AI deployment firm in Spain. He is part of the Advisory Council of the MIT Visiting Fellows Program and a mentor at the business school in EM-Lab and GLAB (taught by Nobel Laureate Simon Johnson); he's also a member of the American Society for AI and YPO.
Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management
Kevin D. Johnson is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, where he teaches Building an Entrepreneurial Venture: Advanced Tools and Techniques, the most advanced course in the Entrepreneurship and Innovation track. His project-based class has inspired many students to launch successful ventures—several have gone on to participate in the world-renowned Y Combinator accelerator and raise tens of millions of dollars for their startups. Kevin earned his MBA from MIT Sloan, where he was a Leadership Fellow. He is also President and CEO of Johnson Media Inc. and a serial entrepreneur with years of experience leading his award-winning marketing and communications company, serving global brands such as Porsche, Chase, and The Coca-Cola Company. As an innovative leader, Kevin has been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS, CNN, and in Forbes, The New York Times, FastCompany, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of the international bestselling book The Entrepreneur Mind: 100 Essential Beliefs, Characteristics, and Habits of Elite Entrepreneurs, which appeared on the “Best Entrepreneurship Books of All Time” list by BookAuthority. Before founding his companies, Kevin worked as a software developer for IBM, CNN, and Accenture. Beyond his professional work, he is passionate about mentoring entrepreneurs, sharing his insights at conferences and universities around the globe, traveling internationally, and playing classical piano.
Entrepreneur in Residence and Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship
Macauley Kenney, MIT MS '16 is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the MTC and a lecturer at MIT Sloan and MIT D-Lab. She is the former COO of SurgiBox, where she oversaw the launch of the first ultraportable operating room, a 2023 Time Design of the Year, taking the product through the design for manufacturing process and into use on the battlefield in Ukraine. She is passionate about and teaches courses in product design, user research and social impact. A serial entrepreneur, Macauley has specialized in scaling organizations in emerging markets, and has led operational systems for ventures in the U.S., Rwanda, and Uganda. Her research has been featured in multiples news outlets, including Forbes and Engineering for Change.
Chief Investment Officer of TheVentures
Ethan Cho is Chief Investment Officer at TheVentures and a global venture investor with a background spanning Google, Qualcomm Ventures, and leading Korean investment firms. He focuses on where technology, capital, and human behavior intersect—particularly AI, consumer platforms, and cross-border expansion. Having lived and worked across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, Ethan brings a global lens to identifying asymmetric opportunities and translating emerging signals into durable business strategy.Ethan earned his Bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Seoul National University and his MBA from Columbia Business School in New York.
Founder/CEO, DWD Healthcare, DWD Healthcare
Former President at Celltrion (Japan, Australia, Israel, Colombia, Chile, the Philippines). Previously in Marketing/Sales at Johnson & Johnson Korea.
Co-founder & Co-CEO of Hyprnote., Hyprnote
John Jeong is the co-founder and co-CEO of Hyprnote. He is a nuclear engineer turned product designer, focused on building thoughtful, user-centered technology.
CEO, MotiFormMotiForm Inc., Founder & CEO
Kim Jungeun is the CEO and Founder of MotiForm Inc., with extensive experience spanning startups, venture investment, and corporate innovation. She has previously served as Team Manager of Customer Success at Quotalab Inc. and worked as a venture capitalist at Donghoon Investment, where she supported early-stage companies and technology commercialization. Her background also includes a role as Senior Researcher at the Chungbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, contributing to ecosystem development and startup support. Earlier in her career, she held positions in IT planning and operations at Kakao, Yellomobile, and UltraCaption Inc., as well as a Senior Researcher role at LG Household & Health Care.
Co-founder, FS2
Jekyung Kim is the co-founder and CEO of FS2, a startup from MIT developing next-generation 2D materials and 3D chips. He leads technology development and business strategy for next generation semiconductor chips with low power and low latency. Throughout his Ph.D. postdoc at MIT, and experience at Samsung, he has worked extensively on silicon and post-silicon materials with a semiconductor background. headshot photo: please see the attached
Senior Principal, Bluepoint Partners, Bluepoint Partners
Sooyong is a Senior Principal at Bluepoint Partners, a leading early-stage deep tech venture capital firm in South Korea. He focuses on investments at the intersection of biotechnology, medical technology, and AI, with a strong emphasis on translating frontier research into globally scalable healthcare solutions. Prior to his investing career, he worked at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), where he was involved in healthcare policy, R&D strategy, and industry development initiatives, gaining deep insight into the regulatory dynamics shaping medical innovation. He also serves as a member of the Medical Device Commercialization Committee (MDCC), providing evaluation and strategic guidance on the translation of medical technologies from research to market. Sooyong is actively engaged in building glocal innovation ecosystems, connecting Korean deep tech startups with global partners and investors.
Principal Researcher in Materials Informatics, LG
Changyoung Park is an AI scientist at LG AI Research, where he leads materials intelligence initiatives focused on AI-driven design and optimization of advanced battery materials. His work spans electrolytes, Mn-rich cathodes, chemical structure recognition, and next-generation cooling materials for high-performance systems. He received his PhD in Physics from KAIST and previously conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Co-founder & CEO, CLIKA, Clika
Nayul Kim is the Co-founder and CEO of CLIKA, an AI infrastructure startup delivering an automated model compression and compilation toolkit that makes AI models faster, smaller, and instantly deployable across diverse hardware platforms. As a passionate startup operator and proud kool-aid brewer, Nayul is focused on building a world-class team and translating cutting-edge research into real-world enterprise impact. Before founding CLIKA, she led innovation initiatives across both public and private sectors as a consultant and business development manager. Born in Korea and raised across four continents—including Spain, Uruguay, and Argentina—Nayul brings a global perspective to everything she builds. She now resides in San Francisco, where she’s scaling CLIKA and shaping the future of efficient AI deployment.
IOMTEK startup, CEO
Young Jun (Joseph) Park is the CEO of IOMTEK, a deep-tech impact company developing advanced materials for climate-resilient agriculture. He brings extensive experience in industrial R&D, commercialization, and global collaboration across developing and emerging markets.
Director of Strategy & Operations, MEPSGENUS, Co-founder/Nucleate Korea
Yelim Woo is a biotech and healthcare professional with over a decade of experience spanning global commercialization, product strategy, and ecosystem development across South Korea and the United States. With a background in biochemistry and an MBA and MS in Data Technology, she has led product launches, global marketing, and market entry initiatives at multinational healthcare and biotech companies, while also advising and supporting early-stage biotech ventures through strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market execution. In parallel, she has played a key role in building entrepreneurship ecosystems through her leadership in Nucleate, including co-founding Nucleate Korea, where she has worked closely with students, founders, investors, and academic institutions to strengthen sustainable pathways for biotech innovation.
CSO / Calici. Co.
is the Co-Founder of Calici and CSO of Calici Therapeutics, where he leads the development of AI-driven platforms for structure-based drug discovery. He holds a PhD in Public Health/Virology from Seoul National University and completed postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine. His background spans molecular biology, infectious disease, and bio-AI, with prior experience at Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases. At Calici, he oversees the Pharmaco-Net® platform, which integrates AI-based docking, ADMET prediction, and experimentally validated drug discovery workflows.
GSW has hosted founders from companies valued at over $100B combined, including representatives from major tech companies, successful exits, and rising unicorns across various industries.
Are you looking to expand your business to the US? The MIT GSW 2026 Startup Competition invites entrepreneurs to pitch their vision to top investors, industry leaders, and innovators. Compete for prizes and a chance to gain international recognition. This is your opportunity to accelerate your startup's growth and make your mark on the global stage.