FIX 2026 Daegu draws 588 exhibitors, overseas share up to 28% from 17%
FIX 2026 opens in Daegu on Oct 21 with 588 exhibitors, up from 500, and a 28% overseas share against 17% last year, Daegu city said. The show folds in ROBEX, KIRIA's four humanoids, a startup platform of 200 firms from 13 countries and a 61-speaker conference.
Daegu's Future Innovation Technology Expo, FIX 2026, opens at EXCO on Oct 21 with 588 exhibitors, up from 500 last year, and overseas companies make up 28% of them against 17% in 2025, the Daegu city government said in a press release on Oct 14. The four-day show runs to Oct 24 and folds in the city's robot exhibition, a mobility and AI conference and a startup platform.
By our arithmetic that is 88 more exhibitors, a 17.6% rise, and roughly 165 overseas exhibitors against about 85 a year earlier, close to double. The city's figures are rounded, so the overseas count is an estimate. The question for robot makers is whether a regional fair that is getting more international also produces orders.
Robots, cars and startups under one roof
The city named Hyundai Motor's Atria AI and Pleos software, HD Hyundai Robotics' hybrid collaborative robot HDC35-18 and Megazone Cloud's AI management platform as featured technologies. The city's robot show, [ROBEX 2026](/news/robex-2026-daegu-robot-show-65-exhibitors-220-booths-hd-hyundai-robotics-doosan-exco-oct-21-20261018), runs at EXCO on the same dates with 65 companies on 220 booths, and the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement will [demonstrate four Korean humanoids](/news/kiria-four-korean-humanoids-fix-2026-daegu-mcr-1a-nami-ai-worker-igris-c-20261016) in its pavilion. In a separate release on Oct 19 the city said its startup programme during FIX, combining PNP Korea Expo and Startup Arena, has 200 participants from 13 countries, including Thales, TechX Ventures and Fund Western Australia.
Two talk programmes run alongside, according to Robot Newspaper, which the city has not yet confirmed in a full release. The FIX conference from Oct 21 to 23 lists 61 speakers from 14 countries, with keynotes by Seoul National University professor Cho Kyu-jin, GM Technical Center Korea president Brian McMurray, Vector Institute's Xiaoxiao Li and PAL Robotics chief Francesco Ferro. The 10th Daegu Global Robot Business Forum, co-hosted with the Global Robot Cluster network, adds Vecna Robotics chairman Daniel Theobald among its keynote speakers.
- Exhibitors
- 500
- 588
- Daegu city, Oct 14
- Overseas share of exhibitors
- 17%
- 28%
- Daegu city, Oct 14
- Overseas exhibitors (approx.)
- about 85
- about 165
- MEKAWIRE calculation
- Startup platform participants
- n/a
- 200 from 13 countries
- Daegu city, Oct 19
- Conference speakers
- n/a
- 61 from 14 countries
- Robot Newspaper, Oct 19 (not confirmed by the city)
Overseas exhibitor counts are MEKAWIRE estimates from the city's rounded percentages (500 x 17%, 588 x 28%) and may differ from actual counts by a few companies.
As of Oct 19, 2026
MEKAWIRE analysis
Daegu is selling access more than technology: the jump in foreign exhibitors matters only if it turns into export deals for the city's robot suppliers.
Daegu has the policy base, since the government [designated Daegu and Gyeongbuk a robotics specialised zone](/news/korea-designates-daegu-gyeongbuk-robotics-specialized-zone-20260930) in September. The counter-argument is that most named exhibits are from large groups such as Hyundai and HD Hyundai, which do not need a regional fair to find buyers. Bull case: the 28% overseas share brings in distributors for small Daegu suppliers. Bear case: the show stays a showcase, with no disclosed contracts afterwards.
Signals to watch: whether the city publishes consultation and contract figures after Oct 24, as it did for its food fair this week; whether any of the four KIRIA humanoids gets a named customer; and the Oct 21 to 22 retail subscription for patrol-robot maker Intellivix, which falls in the same week.
- FIX 2026, EXCO, Daegu, Oct 21 to 24, 2026
- 10th Daegu Global Robot Business Forum, Oct 21 to 23
- 61 speakers from 14 countries (reported)
- 588, up from 500 (+17.6%)
- ROBEX 2026: 65 companies, 220 booths
- 28%, up from 17%
- 200 participants from 13 countries (PNP Korea Expo and Startup Arena)