Countrywide Teamup
The government, domestic AI semiconductor, and cloud industries are teaming up to challenge the dominance of Nvidia, adopting a strategy to respond to the generative AI era with ultra-fast, low-power domestic AI semiconductors like what ChatGPT uses.
On June 26, Lee Jong-ho, minister of science and ICT, announced the commencement of the first phase of the “K-Cloud Project” during the 3rd AI Semiconductor Strategic Dialogue, attended by major corporations like Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, domestic AI semiconductor startups, and cloud industries at the NHN Cloud headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The K-Cloud Project is a policy aimed at developing an ultra-fast, low-power domestic AI semiconductors of the world’s highest standard and using them in data centers to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic cloud. For this, a total of 826.2 billion won (US$633.8 million) will be invested by 2030.
At today’s meeting, memory semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, domestic AI semiconductor companies like Rebellions, Sapeon Korea, FuriosaAI, DEEPX, Telechips, and cloud hosting companies like NHN Cloud, Naver Cloud, KT Cloud, and others pledged to work together to strengthen the domestic AI semiconductor ecosystem and make global advancements.
The first phase, which officially starts today, aims to install domestic neural network processors (NPUs) in data centers and provide AI services.
The domestic NPU data center construction project is divided into two parts, demonstrating the operation of a commercial cloud center based on domestic AI semiconductors at private data centers and AI clusters in Gwangju Metropolitan City. Initially, the goal was to build a data center with a computing capacity of 10 petaflops (PF) or more, but the target has been nearly quadrupled to a total of 39.9 PF.
NHN Cloud plans to build a data center with more than 11 PF for both the public and private sectors, accounting for more than 50% of this project. Naver Cloud plans to build AI-based data centers with 4.5 PF computing capacity in both the public and private. KT Cloud plans to construct data centers with 4.45 PF in both sectors, and will also validate the commercialization potential of “Mi:dm,” KT’s super-large AI, based on domestic AI semiconductors.
Among AI semiconductor companies, Sapeon Korea will supply a total of 20 PF chips, the largest among AI semiconductor companies. Rebellions plans to supply more than 8.9 PF of Atom, an AI semiconductor produced through Samsung Electronics’ 5-nano EUV process. FuriosaAI will also supply its NPU, WARBOY, and next-generation chip Renegade.
Minister Lee Jong-ho stated, “We will actively support domestic AI semiconductors to enter not only domestic but also global markets through the K-Cloud Project,” and “We will spare no expense to ensure that our country secures the world’s top-level AI semiconductor technology.”