A new challenger is stepping into the ring against OpenAI and Google: South Korea is rapidly intensifying its artificial intelligence efforts. A €365 million government initiative aims to put Asia on the global AI map.

The race to lead the artificial intelligence revolution has become one of the most competitive arenas in the tech industry. At first glance, the dominance of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, seems unshakable, but rivals such as Google and Microsoft are fighting hard to secure their place. Yet one critical factor sets many AI models apart: their business models are shaped by local laws and regulatory frameworks.

A prime example of this is China’s DeepSeek, which stunned the tech world by matching ChatGPT’s capabilities with a fraction of the investment. Now, the spotlight is shifting to South Korea, where a €365 million plan seeks to build foundational AI models tailored to the country’s language and culture. The goal is not just technological independence but also greater control over critical data in the age of artificial intelligence.

To achieve this, the government will invest hundreds of millions into five domestic companies, enabling them to develop large-scale models, reduce foreign dependency, and accelerate adoption across industries. The chosen players — LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Naver Cloud, NC AI, and Upstage — represent a deliberate mix of tech giants and a startup, allowing for risk-sharing, diverse approaches, and faster integration into real-world applications.

Can South Korea Achieve Its Ambitious Goals?

The program will feature semi-annual reviews, with funding concentrated on the most promising projects until only two “sovereign” AI flagships remain. This competitive approach is designed to maximize efficiency and deliver tangible results.

Each company is taking a unique approach:

• LG AI Research is developing Exaone 4.0, a hybrid reasoning model that prioritizes data quality and performance over sheer size.

• SK Telecom is advancing “A.”, its personal AI platform, which exists in 72B and 7B parameter versions optimized for the Korean language — already attracting nearly 10 million users.

• Naver Cloud is focusing on integrating AI into real-world services such as search, e-commerce, maps, and finance, leveraging its extensive data center network.

• Upstage, the only startup among the five, has created a Korean-optimized AI model that outperforms competitors while using less energy.

• NC AI has revealed little about its plans, but the message is clear: South Korea intends to challenge the industry’s biggest players — and it’s ready to spend hundreds of millions of euros to do so.

Source: 3djuegos