AMD and Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT Partner to Advance a Sovereign AI Ecosystem

What’s the News? AMD has signed a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea (MSIT) to advance Korea’s AI semiconductor and computing ecosystem and support the development of open, heterogeneous sovereign AI infrastructure. AMD and MSIT plan to explore initiatives spanning national AI infrastructure, software development, advanced research, talent development and open-source AI models. The organizations will explore a computing environment that combines AMD CPUs and GPUs with Korean-developed neural processing units (NPUs) in support of Korea’s objective to expand technology choice and diversify its AI infrastructure beyond a single-vendor approach.

Why It Matters? Korea is a global leader in semiconductors, advanced research, AI development and physical AI. Building on these strengths will require access to a broad range of computing technologies, software tools and technical expertise. Open, heterogeneous infrastructure can help Korean companies, universities and researchers select the technologies best suited to their workloads, accelerate domestic innovation and strengthen Korea’s long-term competitiveness. The partnership also illustrates how government and industry can collaborate to develop national AI capabilities while supporting openness, interoperability and local ecosystem growth.

What’s the Role for AMD?

What will AMD Deliver? AMD intends to serve as a full-stack sovereign AI partner to Korea. The company plans to bring together its high-performance computing portfolio, open software capabilities, technical expertise, talent programs and global ecosystem relationships.

How will the Partnership Support Korea’s AI Ecosystem? AMD plans to establish an AMD AI center of excellence in Korea. The center is expected to support AMD global AI software development while enabling deeper collaboration with Korean universities, research institutions and the broader AI ecosystem.

AMD and MSIT will also explore cooperation in AI for science and physical AI, providing Korean researchers and universities with access to AMD compute resources, software and technical expertise, as well as collaboration on foundation models and world models for physical AI.

How Does This Benefit Korea? “Korea is building the foundations to become a global leader in the AI era, drawing on our strengths in semiconductors, advanced research and technology innovation,” said Kyunghoon Bae, Minister of Science and ICT and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea. “Our strategic partnership with AMD will help expand access to advanced computing, strengthen the development of world-class AI talent and foster an open ecosystem in which Korean companies, universities and researchers can innovate. This collaboration demonstrates how government and industry can work together to advance national competitiveness and create new economic opportunities through AI.”

How Will AMD Support Open Korean AI Models? AMD and MSIT plan to explore the creation of a dedicated sovereign AI space. The proposed space will provide Korean developers, researchers and organizations with a central location to publish and access Korean AI models, datasets and applications optimized for AMD platforms. The initiative is intended to expand the accessibility and global visibility of Korea-developed AI technologies.

How Will the Partnership Be Governed? AMD and MSIT plan to establish a Sovereign AI Collaboration Steering Committee to guide the partnership and review progress across its principal areas of cooperation. The committee will be supported by working groups focused on priority AI challenges and implementation programs, creating a structure for sustained engagement across government, industry, academia and research.

What Comes Next? AMD and MSIT will work together to define the scope, location and operating models for the partnership’s individual programs. AMD expects the collaboration to provide a model for future government-industry partnerships, demonstrating how open and heterogeneous AI ecosystems can increase technology choice, accelerate innovation and strengthen national competitiveness.

More: Read MSIT’s news release about the collaboration.