The Financial Services Commission building in Seoul. Photo courtesy of Asia Today
May 3 (Asia Today) — South Korea is accelerating large-scale investments to strengthen the competitiveness of artificial intelligence through the National Growth Fund, extending support beyond AI computing infrastructure to energy and advanced materials.
The Financial Services Committee announced on Sunday that the National Growth Fund Management Committee approved five projects on Wednesday, including investments in companies developing AI-based models and the construction of a national AI computing center. The total amount approved by April reached 8.4 trillion won (approximately $5.7 billion).
A key part of the investment is AI infrastructure. The government has approved an equity investment in the National AI Computing Center with 15,000 graphics processing units. The project will be implemented through a public-private special purpose vehicle and is expected to provide high-performance computing resources to industry and research institutions.
The government also plans to invest about 560 billion won ($380 million) in South Korean AI company Upstage. Of this amount, 100 billion won ($67.9 million) will be provided by the Advanced Strategic Industries Fund to help companies develop large-scale language models and AI-based models.
Investment is also expanding into energy and supply chains, as demand for electricity from data centers is expected to surge as AI becomes more widespread.
The committee announced that it will provide 250 billion won ($170 million) in low-interest loans to factories that produce spheroidal graphite, a key material for secondary batteries. It will also provide funding to companies that produce high-purity hydrogen fluoride, which is essential for semiconductor manufacturing.
The fund also plans to support the biotechnology sector by providing 85 billion won ($57.7 million) in low-interest loans to mid-sized companies expanding their biosimilar production facilities.
“We will accelerate investment in advanced industries and infrastructure through the National Growth Fund and enhance the competitiveness of the entire AI ecosystem,” a Financial Services Commission official said.
— Asia Today reported. Translation by UPI
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Korea original report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260503010000142
