The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 29th that it held a kickoff roundtable for the "multi artificial intelligence (AI) agent demonstration project tailored to small and medium manufacturing" at a food manufacturing corporations in North Chungcheong and discussed the direction of 12 projects selected for the "R&D to develop multi AI agents tailored to small and medium manufacturing."
About 30 people attended the roundtable, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA), project-performing institutions, and demand-side corporations. It is the first official event where the selected projects begin demonstrations based on manufacturing sites.
Attendees shared key on-site challenges such as quality variation at food manufacturing sites, adjustment of process conditions, and reliance on skilled personnel. They discussed how AI agents could analyze manufacturing data to support decision-making by workers and managers, as well as the feasibility of applying the technology on site.
In the food manufacturing field, Ijera introduced a scenario in which an AI agent predicts quality risks based on raw material conditions and process parameters for Pulmuone Foods. In the beauty field, Kairoslab presented a plan to apply AI agents across the entire manufacturing process—from prescription design to quality control, process operations, regulatory review, and clinical efficacy prediction. IIEC Korea, Intercos Korea, Activeon, and Newtree Advisor will participate in the demonstration.
Over the next six months, the 12 selected projects will use manufacturing site data to examine whether AI agents function as intended, their on-site usability, and the potential to expand follow-up research and development (R&D). The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), together with the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA), plans to support data quality verification, connection to the national graphics processing unit (GPU) infrastructure, and expert committee assistance so that demonstration outcomes can take root in actual manufacturing sites.
Kwon Sun-jae, director-general for regional corporations policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "AI technology will play an important role not only in improving productivity and quality at manufacturing sites but also in enhancing worker safety and the environment," adding, "Through this project, we will validate AI models that can be used in small and medium manufacturing sites and support the spread of outcomes to key manufacturing fields such as food, beauty, auto parts, and metal processing."