Korea and Singapore have agreed to build an artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation framework and move in earnest on cooperation across research, investment, and industry. To that end, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to establish the government's first offshore global fund of funds in Singapore in the second half of this year.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 2nd that, leveraging the Korea–Singapore AI Connect Summit held during President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to Singapore, they will cooperate strategically with Singapore, which has strengths in research and the investment ecosystem, to accelerate a leap to become the world's top three in AI after the United States and China.
Korea is pushing its "AI action plan," released last month, and Singapore is pursuing its "National AI Strategy 2.0" covering 2024–2029. The two countries plan to raise national AI capabilities through strategic cooperation and accelerate their leap to become one of the global top three in AI.
The Ministry of Science and ICT will launch an international joint research program in AI and digital fields totaling 50 billion won over five years starting in 2027. Cooperation with Singapore will be treated as a priority for review, and this year the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) and Singapore's dedicated AI agency (AISG) will jointly begin planning research projects. The plan is to identify projects that can maximize synergies by combining the strengths of both countries.
In addition, the two sides will pursue the establishment of the Korea–Singapore AI Alliance, a strategic cooperation framework encompassing the public and private sectors (industry–academia–research). Its main pillars will include joint nurturing of AI startups, joint research on next-generation AI fundamental technologies, exchanges of high-level talent, and the spread of AI technologies in public safety and industrial sites. In particular, in the public sector, the two sides will link safety and innovation programs using AI and other new technologies, and in the industrial sector, they will energize local expansion and investment cooperation for startups from both countries.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will set up the offshore global fund of funds in Singapore in the second half of this year, then expand it in stages to a total of $300 million by 2030, fostering it as a core fund for Asia venture investment strategy.
Through this, the two sides expect to invest in promising startups in both countries with a focus on AI and deep tech, and to serve as a platform connecting global investors with startups in Korea and Asia.
At the event, the two sides also signed a total of seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for joint AI research and industrial cooperation between corporations and institutions. ▲ AI research cooperation between KAIST Graduate School of AI and the National University of Singapore School of Computing (NUS SoC); ▲ Autonomous Driving cooperation among Autonomous A2Z, NCS, SMRT, and Tong Tar; ▲ cooperation among Lablup, PTCsys, and Knovel on AI high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and the spread of research and industry; ▲ cooperation between the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and the Singapore Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) on the use of AI in public safety were included.
Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "Singapore is the optimal cooperation partner, with a world-class research environment and investment ecosystem," adding, "We will move cooperation into full gear based on the strengths of the AI talent, corporations, and technologies of both countries to create synergies for a leap to become an AI powerhouse."
Han Seong-sook, Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "Singapore is a global financial hub and a gateway and key partner for our venture companies and startups to go global," adding, "We will build a venture investment platform and actively support the global expansion of our corporations and investors."