Naver Cloud announced on the 25th that it has formed a consortium with five universities, including KAIST, Seoul National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Korea University, and Hanyang University, for industry-academia cooperation. The consortium was established as part of the 'Independent AI Foundation Model' project promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Sung Nak-ho, who oversees hyperscale technology at Naver Cloud, explained the vision and direction of the project during the consortium agreement ceremony held on the 22nd and discussed specific operational plans for industry-academia cooperation. At the event, attended by over 100 faculty members and students, a lively Q&A session followed.
Naver Cloud supports an environment in which about 40 master's and doctoral students affiliated with the consortium can solely focus on research through its 'Industry-Academia Cooperation Residency Program.' Through this, it plans to jointly promote AI model development and application research. A representative from Naver Cloud stated, "We provide students with real-world model development experience in the industry," adding, "We aim to establish a virtuous cycle structure where corporations and academia can grow together by providing companies with opportunities to discover and secure outstanding talents early."
The consortium also includes the global video multimodal AI startup Twelve Labs. Naver Cloud plans to enhance its voice and language-based technologies by integrating Twelve Labs' vision AI capabilities, aiming to implement a user-friendly 'Omni Model AI' that anyone in the country can utilize and increase the global expansion potential of K-AI models.
Sung noted, "This consortium will serve as an important foundation for combining the strengths of corporations and academia to foster future AI talents and strengthen national technological sovereignty and global competitiveness," adding, "Through this, we aim to enhance the completeness of our efforts to go beyond simple technology development to provide an AI utilization experience that everyone can feel."