FIX 2026 draws 117,000 visitors in Daegu as AI expo expands global reach

FIX 2026 closed in Daegu after four days with more than 117,000 visitors, 588 companies and 2,000 booths focused on AI, robotics, mobility and startups. The show also logged major business talks and awards, underscoring the city’s push to position the expo as a global deep-tech commercialization platform.

Why it matters: - FIX 2026 positioned Daegu as a larger hub for deep-tech commercialization, with AI, robotics, mobility and startup companies all using the expo to court buyers, investors and media. - The event combined technology display with business matching, helping translate exhibition traffic into export talks, procurement talks and follow-on support for award winners. - The scale of overseas participation and the number of global media partners signal the event’s push to compete as an international innovation showcase.

What happened: - Future Innovation Tech Expo 2026 ran from October 21 to October 24 at EXCO in Daegu under the theme “AI, Beyond Tech into Reality.” - The expo drew more than 117,000 visitors over four days. - Organizers said 588 companies took part across 2,000 booths. - Overseas exhibitors made up 27.5% of participants, or 162 companies. - The event included exhibitors from Germany and ASEAN, including the first full-scale Korea showing of Volocopter’s “VoloCity” urban air mobility airframe. - Thirty leading ASEAN AI companies joined the exhibition with ICT and AI technologies.

The details: - The mobility section featured Hyundai Motor Company’s “ATRIA AI” and “Pleos,” plus GMTCK’s hands-free driver assistance system “Super Cruise.” - Regional auto parts companies SL, Sambo Motors and PHC showed smart factory manufacturing processes, a scaled-down UAM airframe model labeled B-33X, high-output inverters for advanced air mobility and robotic actuators. - Global automakers Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Zeekr and BYD displayed electric vehicle lineups. - Volocopter’s full-scale VoloCity aircraft drew strong visitor attention, with the boarding experience remaining popular throughout the show. - The robotics hall marked first-time participation by HD Hyundai Robotics and Doosan Robotics. - HD Hyundai Robotics showed its collaborative robot “HDC35-18” and a new dual-arm robot model. - Doosan Robotics presented robotic solutions including “Scan&Go,” which won the CES Best of Innovation Award. - The ICT area highlighted Geobot’s autonomous sinkhole-exploration robot, AIRC’s AI-powered unmanned convenience-store platform “PnGO,” and Farmity’s posture- and behavior-recognition system “FIRA Pose,” which won two innovation awards at CES 2026. - The startup section included 91 global partners from 12 countries to support technology exchange, investment and business collaboration with Korean startups. - Thirty Korean startups displayed products and services in the “Startup Arena.” - The Daegu Center for Creative Economy & Innovation hosted a specialized corporate zone and international networking platform. - DCCEI showcased 14 regional companies selected under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ “Startup City Project.” - The participating companies were Nuvinda, Yellosis, A.Cure, Zio Robot, EROP, AIEEV, LearningVision, FutureDrive, WPosition, AIRS, UNIVA, RootLab, Muaheng and TheSunHan. - DCCEI said the policy supports regional commercialization capital of up to KRW 400 million for emerging future tech and up to KRW 250 million for general manufacturing and technology. - Startup presentations highlighted Nuvinda’s 120Nm-class integrated actuator for Physical AI and humanoid robotics, TheSunHan’s “YAK” on-premises deep learning compute infrastructure, AIEEV’s “Private Air Cloud” inference platform and LearningVision’s visual AI inspection tool for secondary battery cell manufacturing. - Global journalists met founders during on-site media sessions led by Kijung Ju, director of DCCEI’s Startup City Division. - The conference ran from October 21 to October 23 and featured 61 speakers from leading global companies and academic institutions across 14 countries. - Keynotes included Brian McMurray of GMTCK in mobility, Seoul National University professor Kyu-Jin Cho and PAL Robotics CEO Francesco Ferro in robotics, and Vector AI Institute professor Xiaoxiao Li in AI. - Science YouTuber Jaehyeok Kim, also known as Orbit, gave a special lecture on AI. - Concurrent programs included job fairs, the FIX Innovation Awards conference and ceremony, smart mobility startup camps, Open Chengdu, startup idea competitions and the BEST OF FIX 2026 Global Media Awards. - The FIX Innovation Awards reviewed 209 technology companies with 26 judges. - More than 70% of applicants, or 147 companies, had prior global award records including CES honors. - Thirty-one companies were recognized across future mobility, robotics and AI/ICT. - Nine category winners received the Best of FIX Innovation Award. - Future mobility winners were ONEPREDICT, SWM, PERSEUS and HJWAVE. - Robotics winners were Tesollo and AeiROBOT. - AI/ICT winners were CENS, WACE and POTATONET. - Awardees receive a 30% booth discount for FIX 2027, Korea Credit Guarantee Fund U-CONNECT Demo Day access, FIX Startup Arena IR pitch slots, preferential consideration for Plug and Play glocal expansion programs and pre-matched buyer meetings. - FIX 2026 and AVING News co-hosted the “FIX 2026 Innovation Awards Media Day” on October 22 in the EXCO West Wing FIX TV ZONE. - Thirteen domestic and international outlets took part in technical Q&A sessions with the nine Best Innovation Technology Award winners. - On October 23, the “BEST OF FIX 2026 Global Media Awards” honored 30 market-ready companies selected by 10 international media outlets across Europe, the Americas and Asia. - The outlets included Le Café du Geek, Clipset, Ubergizmo, Otaku Soken, DIGITIMES, ChinaByte, ET Manufacturing, Pokde.net, AVING USA and VietnamPlus. - DOGU Robotics founder and CEO Jinhyo Kim said the recognition from Ubergizmo in Silicon Valley could help the company build business with major players in Silicon Valley’s industrial value chain and support its new U.S. office in San Jose. - Export consultations through KOTRA and overseas corporate matching totaled USD 353 million. - Procurement consultations with major domestic conglomerates such as SK Hynix and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries totaled KRW 32 billion. - Combined consultation volume reached about KRW 508.6 billion. - Daegu also hosted MICE-linked programs for buyers, investors and business leaders, including visits to the Daegu International Opera Festival and 83 Tower night tours.

Between the lines: - FIX is evolving from a regional exhibition into a deal-making event that blends product launches, investor meetings, press coverage and award-driven validation. - The strong showing from overseas exhibitors and global media suggests Daegu is trying to build an international brand around AI commercialization rather than a one-off trade fair. - The awards and buyer meetings give smaller startups and regional manufacturers a clearer path to visibility, especially in Physical AI, robotics and mobility.

What’s next: - Award winners will get follow-up commercialization support tied to FIX 2027 and other business-matching programs. - Daegu is likely to keep using FIX to attract overseas exhibitors, buyers and media as it competes for a bigger role in Korea’s innovation ecosystem. - The city is expected to continue pairing the expo with tourism and MICE programs to extend economic impact beyond the exhibition halls.

The bottom line: - FIX 2026 closed with scale, global participation and measurable business talks, showing Daegu’s bid to turn an expo into a practical platform for AI-era industry deals.