The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to begin developing Frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models as early as March 2027. This initiative aims to narrow the technological gap with the United States and China, which are rapidly advancing in top-tier AI model development.
On October 5, Deputy Minister Ryu Je-myung stated during a press briefing at the Seoul office of the National Information Society Agency (NIA) that "if the National Assembly approves the budget in December, we aim to immediately launch a public competition to select the entities that will carry out the Frontier AI project for next year."
The ongoing Independent AI Foundation Model (IAF) project is set to continue as planned until the end of January 2027. The ministry is currently evaluating three teams and is considering linking the results to the selection process for Frontier AI project participants.
Deputy Minister Ryu mentioned, "We are also exploring options to provide incentives to the final two teams selected in the third phase of the IAF evaluation." He added that the selection of participants for next year's Frontier AI project could happen as early as February to facilitate swift project advancement.
The Frontier AI initiative is expected to adopt an open competition format, allowing not only existing IAF participants but also other companies and startups with the necessary technology and talent to participate. Details regarding the project execution entities, government funding structure, and private investment methods have yet to be finalized.
It is suggested that the government funding will be managed through the Industrial Bank of Korea, which has expertise in funding operations and financial assessments. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to establish specific project structures and evaluation criteria following the National Assembly's budget review.
Choi Dong-won, Director of AI Infrastructure Policy at the Ministry, stated, "We need to consider existing IAF companies while also promoting the development of Frontier models that are nationally necessary." He added, "We are designing the project to grow the entire market while developing Frontier models." He noted that it would be challenging to announce the project structure before the budget is finalized, but the ministry will make the most of the remaining time to establish a direction.
Additionally, the Ministry emphasized that the advancement of the Frontier AI project does not mean the discontinuation of the IAF project. While significant resources will be concentrated on developing top-tier Frontier models, a separate support system will be established to disseminate models developed through the IAF project, as well as domestic specialized, lightweight, and on-premises models, to industrial sectors and public services.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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