South Korea aims to be a top-three AI power with a 100 trillion-won fund and tech giants like SK Telecom, LG, and Naver.
The country leverages Samsung and SK Hynix’s hardware expertise to fuel its AI ecosystem.
Infrastructure developments include large-scale data centers and an AI-optimized power grid.
Over $25 billion in foreign investment flows into South Korea, enhancing its global AI standing.
South Korea’s AI strategy involves international collaborations, including talks with Britain on AI and biotech.
South Korea is launching a national strategy to become a top-three global AI power, mobilizing its tech giants and a 100 trillion-won fund to create a full-stack, sovereign AI ecosystem. The government has tapped consortia led by SK Telecom, LG, and Naver to build a domestic foundational model, as reported by CNBC.
Homegrown hardware: The ambition rests on a solid hardware foundation, with Samsung and SK Hynix already dominating the global market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM)—the specialized memory that powers the training of large AI models. This gives the nation the in-house muscle to fuel its own AI revolution and create a powerful alternative to ecosystems from the U.S. and China.
Paving the expressway: The strategy includes a massive physical buildout, with new large-scale data centers being established to avoid overloading the capital’s power grid. One such project is a massive SK Group-AWS facility that will eventually house 60,000 GPUs. To power it all, the country is developing a next-generation “intelligent power grid” that uses AI to optimize electricity distribution.
South Korea’s tech titans are already weaving global AI into their operations, with Microsoft’s blog detailing how LG and Amorepacific are using its Azure OpenAI platform. Meanwhile, SK Telecom is remaking itself as an AI company by launching a virtualized, GPU-as-a-Service cloud.
The global ripple: By building its own full-stack AI, South Korea isn’t just aiming for domestic self-sufficiency; it’s positioning itself as a powerful third option in a world dominated by U.S. and Chinese technology, attracting over $25 billion in foreign investment to the region in just three months.
The wider view: South Korea’s AI ambitions are also playing out on the world stage, with high-level economic talks on AI with Britain. The strategy mirrors moves by other nations like Saudi Arabia, which is also investing heavily to become a global AI leader. The country’s focus is also expected to transform key sectors, with one report projecting that precision medicine could drive $450 billion in investment across the region.
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