Nvidia and South Korea’s Science Ministry Plan New AI Research Centre

The South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT has announced plans to collaborate with Nvidia Corp. to establish a research centre in South Korea focused on artificial intelligence (AI). This development comes after a meeting on January 11, 2024, in California between Ryu Je-myung, the Second Vice Science Minister, and Jay Puri, executive vice president at Nvidia. Both parties expressed a shared commitment to expedite the creation of Nvidia’s research and development facility in the country.

During their discussions, Ryu and Puri explored opportunities for fostering AI startups together. The establishment of this research centre is expected to enhance South Korea’s capabilities in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, positioning the country as a significant player in global technology innovation.

In a related development, South Korean tech giant Naver has announced the launch of the nation’s largest AI computing cluster, which is powered by Nvidia’s next-generation B200 Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs). This new infrastructure is designed to provide substantial computing power, enabling Naver to develop proprietary foundation models and expand the application of AI technologies.

Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, emphasized the importance of this AI infrastructure, stating, “This AI infrastructure is a meaningful step in strengthening national AI competitiveness and self-reliance.” She further noted that the advanced capabilities of the cluster would allow for rapid training and iterative experimentation, which can be flexibly applied to various services and industrial contexts.

The B200 4K Cluster is engineered for large-scale parallel processing and high-speed communication, boasting performance levels that rival those of the world’s top 500 supercomputers. Naver anticipates that this infrastructure will accelerate the development of AI models by approximately 12 times. The company plans to further its training of omni models, which are capable of processing text, images, video, and audio simultaneously.

These initiatives underscore a growing commitment from both Nvidia and South Korean technology firms to advance AI research and development. By establishing a strong foundation for AI innovation, South Korea aims to remain competitive in the global market, ensuring its place at the forefront of technological advancement.