Korea secures partnership with AMD to advance domestic AI infrastructure
The U.S. semiconductor manufactuer will build a research center in Korea as well as support domestic firms and universities.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon, right, and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su talk as they go down an escalator. The science ministry and AMD signed a memorandum of understanding in San Francisco on cooperation in the AI semiconductor ecosystem on July 23.
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND ICT
Korea has forged an AI alliance with AMD, adding another global chipmaker after Nvidia to its roster of partners as it seeks to further strengthen its domestic AI semiconductor ecosystem.
Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon signed a memorandum of understanding with AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su for cooperation in the AI semiconductor sector during a meeting in San Francisco on July 23, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced Monday.
The agreement centers on developing a heterogeneous computing infrastructure by combining AMD's CPUs and GPUs with Korean-made AI neural processing units (NPUs). Heterogeneous computing refers to the use of different types of processors, including CPUs, GPUs and NPUs, to reduce the cost of AI services while optimizing power efficiency.
As part of the agreement, AMD will establish an AI research center in Korea. The center will support domestic companies, universities and research institutes in AI semiconductor software development and joint technology research using AMD's resources.
AMD also plans to collaborate with the National AI for Science Research Center on AI-driven research and development in science and technology by providing high-performance CPUs, GPUs, software and technical expertise.
The company pledged to support major Korean universities with education and research programs as well as computing resources. It plans to expand industry-academia-research collaboration in emerging fields such as physical AI.
The move mirrors Nvidia's recent partnerships with institutions including KAIST and Seoul National University. Industry observers say AMD is also seeking to strengthen its semiconductor ecosystem by investing in Korean talent.
“Securing a self-reliant yet open AI computing infrastructure is essential if Korea is to become one of the world's three leading AI powers,” Deputy Prime Minister Bae said.
“Through our partnership with AMD, we expect to strengthen the competitiveness of Korea's AI semiconductor ecosystem and establish a new model for international cooperation that will help us respond to changes in the global AI computing infrastructure.”
BY IM SOUNG-BIN [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
