Seoul: South Korean Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im is set to visit the United States later this week to explore opportunities for expanding cooperation with Nvidia Corp. in securing advanced graphic processing units (GPUs), as announced by the ministry on Tuesday. This move aligns with South Korea's strategic efforts to bolster its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) computing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the announcement was made during a meeting of the government-led special committee on AI computing, chaired by Yoo. During the meeting, the ministry also revealed an additional budget of 1.46 trillion won (US$1.03 billion) dedicated to procuring 10,000 high-performance GPUs. This budget allocation aims to support a comprehensive plan encompassing procurement, infrastructure development, and GPU utilization through public-private collaboration.
This initiative is part of the South Korean government's earlier pledge to secure 10,000 advanced GPUs within the year to maintain competitiveness in the global AI landscape. As a part of the initial phase, the government will select a cloud service provider to commence GPU acquisition and build the necessary infrastructure at the planned National AI Computing Center.
The program will further support local industry-academia research centers and state-funded project operators by enabling them to utilize the national data center. Minister Yoo emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, "Securing advanced GPUs is the beginning of innovation in Korea's AI ecosystem." The minister also highlighted the collaborative efforts with both public and private sectors to acquire GPUs within the year, aiming to bolster domestic AI efforts and enhance Korea's AI competitiveness.