South Korea selected three domestic cloud providers to execute a 1.46 trillion won ($1.05 billion) artificial intelligence infrastructure initiative, marking the country’s most substantial effort to close the computing gap with global AI powers.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced July 28 that Naver Cloud, NHN Cloud, and Kakao secured participation in the GPU procurement project, while e-commerce giant Coupang was rejected despite submitting a bid. The three partners will acquire 13,000 NVIDIA processors, including 10,080 B200 units and 3,056 H200 units, for distribution within the year to universities, research institutes, and private companies.
The selection prioritized companies with existing GPU cluster operations over newcomers. Coupang’s rejection highlighted its limited experience with large-scale GPU infrastructure compared to established cloud providers.
Science Minister Baek Kyung-hun positioned the initiative as building “an AI superhighway” to establish South Korea as a global AI powerhouse. However, the program’s success depends on whether domestic companies can effectively compete against established American and Chinese AI infrastructure providers who maintain significant technological advantages.
The procurement represents part of a broader national strategy, with plans for an additional 8,000 GPUs to establish the country’s sixth supercomputer. The initiative reflects Seoul’s recognition that AI competition has evolved from corporate rivalry to national strategic imperative.
