The Korean government is launching the distribution of 4,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) out of 10,000 secured through last year's first supplementary budget.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 3rd that it will select GPU support recipients from industry, academia, and research sectors starting this month and proceed with distribution. The project was initiated to rapidly and reliably supply large-scale GPU resources to strengthen national artificial intelligence (AI) competitiveness and foster an AI innovation ecosystem.
The ministry has been accepting applications from across industry, academia, and research sectors since last year, selecting support recipients through expert evaluation processes. Eligible recipients include small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, universities, educational institutions, and research institutes. The ministry comprehensively evaluated factors including technological and social impact as well as contribution to the AI ecosystem.
A total of 514 project applications requesting 13,712 GPUs were submitted, of which 159 projects were selected for immediate deployment in innovative AI research and service and model development. Of the total 4,000 GPUs, 2,624 will go to academia, 1,288 to industry, and 312 to research institutes. The ministry explained that "academia requested 8,600 units, resulting in the highest allocation ratio."
Selected recipients from industry, academia, and research sectors can begin receiving GPU allocations starting in March. However, the ministry plans to periodically monitor usage after allocation and will reclaim and redistribute GPUs to other applicants if underutilization or use for purposes other than intended, such as commercial exploitation, is detected, ensuring maximum efficiency.
Meanwhile, the ministry will launch an additional call for applications this month to supply more GPUs. The March call will prioritize an additional 4,000 GPUs for industry including SMEs and startups, considering the distribution ratios from this round, followed by approximately 1,000 additional GPUs for academia and research sectors.
Choi Dong-won, Director General for AI Infrastructure Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized, "The government's GPU supply to support AI innovation is not the end but just the beginning, and many more opportunities lie ahead. We expect the government's GPU supply to serve as a catalyst for improving domestic AI technology capabilities and activating AI services, which will create more demand for AI infrastructure and generate a virtuous cycle for the development of Korea's AI ecosystem."