South Korea will invest nearly $7 billion in artificial intelligence by 2027 in a bid to become a global leader in cutting-edge semiconductors, President Yoon Suk Yool said.
The country is home to Samsung and SK Hynix, the world's two largest makers of memory chips, including the high-performance high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in the hardware that powers artificial intelligence.
The semiconductor industry is a key pillar of South Korea's export-driven economy. Yun told a high-level meeting of officials and technology sector executives that his administration wants the country to lead the world in AI chip production.
"It would not be an exaggeration to say that the future of the semiconductor industry depends on AI," Yun said, AFP reported.
"By 2027, we will invest 9.4 trillion won ($6.94 billion) in the field of AI and AI semiconductors" and set up a separate fund worth 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion) "to support the growth of innovative AI semiconductor companies," he added.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Samsung, SK Hynix, tech giant Naver and artificial intelligence chip start-up SAPEON.
Semiconductors are at the heart of the global economy and are used in everything from kitchen appliances and mobile phones to cars and weapons.
Demand for advanced chips that power AI systems has skyrocketed thanks to the success of ChatGPT and other generative AI products. / BGNES
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