South Korea plans to launch a 4.7 trillion won (US$3.5 billion) frontier AI model program in March 2027, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology said on October 6.

After parliament approves the 2027 budget in December 2026, the ministry plans to hold a competitive tender and could pick a lead developer as early as February 2027.

The project would combine government equity investment with private funding and pool chips, data, and talent. Companies, consortia, and special-purpose vehicles could take part.

A separate domestic foundation model program will continue, with two final teams to be chosen in a third-stage review in February 2027.

The government initiative is called “Sovereign AI Foundation Model,” and five consortia were selected for a national foundation model project.

LG, SK Telecom, and Upstage advanced in South Korea’s sovereign AI project.

Separately, SK Telecom and Nvidia are collaborating to build AI infrastructure.

🔗 Source: Reuters