The government operated an AI innovation fund worth 90 billion won annually to foster the artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem. In the future, it plans to expand the scale to 300 billion won, more than three times the current amount, through cooperation with telecommunications companies.
Minister Bae Kyung-hun of the Ministry of Science and ICT noted this on the 12th at the 'Government-Telecommunications Company AI Investment Collaboration Declaration Ceremony' held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.
The event was held to mark the establishment of a new sub-fund of the Korea IT Fund (KIF), created by the three telecommunications companies. The government plans to contribute 150 billion won to the KIF master fund established by the three telecommunication companies and create a total of more than 300 billion won in sub-funds.
The KIF master fund was established in 2002 with an investment of 300 billion won from the three telecommunications companies. By the end of last year, the KIF had invested a total of 4.7 trillion won in 1,669 information and communication technology (ICT) startups through 91 sub-funds, leading the development of the domestic ICT ecosystem. However, since its lifespan was until 2030, it could not establish sub-funds, as a minimum operation period of 8 years was required after the creation of sub-funds. Recently, however, the lifespan was extended to 2040 by agreement among the three telecommunication companies, allowing for the formation of KIF sub-funds. Minister Bae said, 'I hope the formation of KIF sub-funds this time invigorates investment in AI' and 'The government will also firmly establish the foundation for investment and cooperation with the private sector to leap to become one of the top three AI countries.'
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, more than 240 billion won of the 300 billion won KIF sub-fund will be primarily invested in nurturing promising AI startups related to core and foundational AI technologies and AI transformation (AX). A dedicated fund for AI semiconductors worth 40 billion won and a fund worth 20 billion won to promote the commercialization of ICT technologies and spread achievements are also planned to be established.
At the event, Ryu Young-sang, president of SK Telecom, stated, 'SK Telecom is playing the role of the largest investor in the KIF. I am confident that if KIF actively supports investments and there are organic collaborations between the public and private sectors in the AI era, we will be able to achieve our national goal of becoming one of the top three AI countries.' Kim Young-seob, president of KT, said, 'The telecommunications industry is doing its utmost to build AI infrastructure like data centers, develop AI models, and cultivate talent for the AI transformation of individual industries, and we will become a strong support for our venture industry that will lead Korea's AI innovation.'