South Korea launches 'K-NVIDIA' push with $38B investment

South Korea's government has launched a major initiative to foster domestic artificial intelligence semiconductor companies. The government is committing tens of billions of dollars as part of a broader national investment plan. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Financial Services Commission held a public-private meeting in Seoul on Tuesday. They introduced the so-called K-NVIDIA Project. The strategy is aimed at building globally competitive AI chipmakers. Under the plan the government will allocate 30 trillion won, about 22.5 billion dollars, to artificial intelligence. It will allocate about 21 trillion won, about 15.8 billion dollars, to semiconductors. The allocations come from a 150 trillion won, or 112.5 billion dollars, National Growth Fund to be created over five years. Officials said the initiative is designed to nurture homegrown AI chip firms capable of competing with global industry leaders. The effort would strengthen South Korea's position in next-generation technologies. Participants at the meeting included Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon. Also attending were Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eun-won and Korea Development Bank Chairman Park Sang-jin. Executives from local AI semiconductor firms joined them. Industry representatives from companies such as FuriosaAI, DeepX, Mobilint, HyperExcel and Rebellion also attended the session. The meeting brought together government officials and private-sector leaders. They discussed investment strategies, technological development and policy support for the emerging AI semiconductor ecosystem. The report was by Asia Today and translated by UPI.