Plans to build infrastructure combining AMD and Korean-made AI chips... Lisa Su discusses cooperation with Korean companies

[Financial News] The government is pushing to build computing infrastructure that combines AMD’s central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) with Korean-made AI semiconductors. It plans to develop a model that can also be used in global markets by linking it with domestic demonstration projects, and to support Korean AI semiconductor companies’ overseas expansion.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong met with AMD Chair Lisa Su at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on the morning of the 7th and held a roundtable attended by 14 companies in Korea’s AI semiconductor and AI ecosystem.
The event was a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Science and ICT and AMD, signed in connection with President Lee Jae-myung’s San Francisco AI Summit last July. It was organized to review progress on cooperation initiatives and explore opportunities to work with Korean companies, in conjunction with Su’s visit to Korea.
Vice Minister Ryu and Chair Su agreed to proceed without delay with plans to establish an AMD AI research center (CoE) within the year and develop graduate-level talent in AI and AI transformation (AX). They also agreed to develop the creation of heterogeneous computing infrastructure that uses different types of semiconductors together as a specific area of cooperation.
Vice Minister Ryu stressed that as the AI inference market expands, global competition over AI infrastructure is moving beyond individual chips to encompass systems and platforms. The two sides agreed to combine AMD’s CPUs and GPUs with Korean-made AI semiconductors and develop the results of domestic demonstrations into use cases that can be applied in global markets.
The following roundtable was attended by Furiosa AI, HyperExcel, DEEPX, Mobilint, MangoBoost, Panasia, Dnotitia, Moreh, Nota AI, Lablup Inc., FADU, Elice Group and Upstage Co., Ltd. Participants included companies from across the infrastructure sector—not only AI semiconductors, but also software, memory and storage, networking, cloud and AI models.
The participating companies discussed links between AMD’s CPUs and GPUs and Korean-made AI semiconductors, participation in an open software ecosystem, and ways to enter global markets. They also explored potential cooperation using ROCm, AMD’s open-source-based software platform for AI and high-performance computing.
Chair Su stressed that Korea is an important partner for AMD and said she intended to create new opportunities for cooperation with Korean companies. She also expressed AMD’s intention to support Korean companies with strong technological capabilities in connecting with AMD’s global AI ecosystem.
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to review cooperation proposals and suggestions put forward by Korean companies and develop them into specific initiatives under its MoU with AMD.
Vice Minister Ryu said, “The most important role the government can play is to create a space where good companies and technologies can meet, and to support these meetings so that they lead to actual cooperation.” He added, “Starting with today’s meeting, I hope AMD’s global capabilities and our companies’ technological strengths will come together to create new AI technologies and businesses.”
[email protected] Yun Hong-jip Reporter