Lotte Innovate will foster talent in physical artificial intelligence (AI).
Lotte Innovate said on the 8th that it was selected as the lead institution for the 2026 "Generative AI leading talent development project," overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP). The project aims to build an industry-academia cooperative talent development system and focuses on training master's and doctoral-level key personnel in physical AI, particularly Humanoid Robot.
The government will provide 7.25 billion won for the project. The project period is four years, from Apr. this year to Dec. 2029.
As the lead institution, Lotte Innovate will form a consortium with KAIST, Yonsei University, and Inha University to train master's and doctoral-level specialists in physical AI and secure core Humanoid Robot technologies. Lotte Innovate will provide Generative AI foundation model APIs and research data and conduct joint and dispatched research with universities.
Lotte Innovate has already begun building an ecosystem for Humanoid Robot applications. It introduced Humanoid Robot in "AI LAB 3.0," launched in partnership with Korea Seven, and plans to expand the scope of Humanoid Robot use across group affiliates, including participation in Lotte Property & Development's Skyrun event.
A Lotte Innovate official said, "Generative AI technology will expand into physical AI, including Humanoid Robot, and accelerate industrial innovation," adding, "By combining universities' educational expertise with on-site demand from corporations, we will develop industry-specialized foundation models and foster fusion-type talent ready for immediate deployment to lead the advanced AI industry."