Seoul: The science ministry announced that it has selected a consortium led by Motif Technologies Inc. to join its ongoing project aimed at developing homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models. This consortium also includes the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Science and ICT has chosen the Motif-led team as an additional contender in the state-funded program, which initially shortlisted three other teams. These teams are led by SK Telecom Co., LG AI Research, and Upstage. The ministry had previously eliminated teams led by Naver Cloud Corp. and NC AI Co. but had planned to add one more consortium to the project.
An AI foundation model is a large-scale system trained on diverse data, designed to be adaptable for a variety of tasks. The government is keen on developing these homegrown models as part of its strategic vision to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses.
"The Motif Technologies consortium was acknowledged for its experience in designing AI models based on an independent architecture and for achieving performance competitive with global models despite a limited data environment," stated Kim Kyung-man, director general for AI policy at the ministry, during a recent press briefing.
The only other applicant for this additional spot was a consortium led by Trillion Labs. Notably, Naver and NC AI, despite being eligible, chose not to apply. The selected Motif consortium, along with the three other existing contenders, will receive various forms of support including access to graphics processing units (GPUs) and data.
Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon emphasized the government's commitment to fostering a competitive AI ecosystem in South Korea, drawing parallels with major companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which were not globally recognized from the outset. The government plans to select two final winners by the end of the year, who will continue to receive state support.