South Korea has launched a ₩530 billion (US$390 million) state-backed initiative to develop homegrown large language models, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign AI providers like OpenAI and Google.

Five companies—LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Naver Cloud, NC AI, and startup Upstage—were selected by the Ministry of Science and ICT to compete for ongoing government support.

The program will review participants every six months, cutting those that lag behind until only two remain.

LG AI Research is developing Exaone 4.0 with a focus on industry-specific data and efficiency.

SK Telecom introduced A.X 4.0, based on Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen 2.5, claiming it processes Korean input more efficiently than GPT-4o.

Naver Cloud offers HyperCLOVA X, integrated into its services. Upstage, the only startup, has Solar Pro 2, which it said outperforms global competitors on Korean benchmarks.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch