Apollon, a Korean startup developing needle-free continuous glucose monitoring devices (CGMs), secured second place at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 Startup Pitch Competition, an event featuring startups from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

The competition, held last Wednesday in Las Vegas, was co-hosted by the Seoul Business Agency, Switzerland Global Enterprise, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Ten startups, selected from each participating country, competed in the finals.

Representing Korea were Apollon, developer of the needle-free blood glucose monitoring smartwatch MOGLU, and Thermoeye, an AI-powered thermal imaging camera developer. Both companies were recognized by the CES 2025 Innovation Awards program.

The grand prize went to E-Magy, a next-generation battery manufacturing startup from the Netherlands. Korea’s Apollon and Japan’s BionicM, a bionic prosthesis developer, shared second place.

Apollon CEO Hong A-ram highlighted the company’s progress during the presentation. “The small-scale clinical trial we conducted with MIT showed positive results. Based on this, we plan to conduct a 300-patient clinical trial at the Joslin Diabetes Center under Harvard Medical School later this year and apply for FDA approval,” Hong said. He also announced plans to pursue a Series A funding round in the U.S. and Korea.

“CES provided us the opportunity to connect with global tech companies and overseas venture capitalists that are difficult to meet domestically,” Hong added. “We are excited to hold follow-up meetings with companies like Medtronic and Samsung Research America, which have expressed interest in blood glucose monitoring.”