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Science Ministry announces five teams to develop Korea’s proprietary AI foundation model

Published: 04 Aug. 2025, 17:16 Updated: 04 Aug. 2025, 17:52

Words reading ″Artificial intelligence AI″ and miniatures of robot and toy hands are pictured in this illustration taken Dec. 14, 2023. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced Monday it has selected five elite teams to lead the development of Korea’s proprietary foundation model for AI.

The five selected teams are Naver Cloud, Upstage, SK Telecom, NC AI and LG AI Research.

Out of a total of 15 applicants, 10 teams were short-listed through a document screening. The final five were selected after a presentation evaluation held late last month.

These teams will be granted the use of the official titles “K-AI Model” and “K-AI Company.” They will also receive government support in the form of data, talent and graphics processing units (GPUs).

“All five teams demonstrated strong capabilities in developing advanced AI models and proposed high-level open-source policies that would allow the models they develop to be used commercially by other companies,” the Science Ministry said.

“We expect this initiative to contribute in multiple ways to the expansion of Korea’s AI ecosystem, accelerate the development of diverse AI services and enhance public access to AI technologies.”

The government plans to finalize the scope of support and specific project details for the five teams soon, taking into account the feedback from the presentation evaluation. A first-phase review of their foundation models is scheduled to take place by the end of this year, reducing the number of teams from five to four.

“Through this project, we aim to elevate Korean AI companies and expand the sovereign AI ecosystem with full government backing,” said Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KANG KWANG-WOO [[email protected]]