The South Korean government announced on the 3rd that it will distribute 4,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) this month to industry, academia, and research institutions, drawing from the 10,000 GPUs secured through last year's first supplementary budget.
The Ministry of Science and ICT launched the "Advanced GPU Utilization Support Program" last year to rapidly supply large-scale GPU resources aimed at strengthening national artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness and fostering an AI innovation ecosystem. The ministry received 514 project applications requesting a total of 13,712 GPUs, of which 159 projects were selected. The selected projects focus on AI research and service and model development. The allocation of 4,000 GPUs breaks down to 2,624 units for academia, 1,288 for industry, and 312 for research institutions.
Recipients from industry, academia, and research institutions will begin receiving GPU allocations starting in March. However, if the government's usage monitoring determines that GPUs are being underutilized or used for commercial purposes, the allocated GPUs must be immediately returned to the government.
The ministry plans to launch an additional call for applications this month to distribute the remaining GPU inventory to industry, academia, and research institutions.
"We expect the government's GPU supply to serve as a catalyst, improving domestic AI technology capabilities and activating AI services, which will in turn create more demand for AI infrastructure and establish a virtuous cycle for Korea's AI ecosystem development," said Choi Dong-won, Director of AI Infrastructure Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT.