Korea’s ‘dream team’ for sovereign AI takes shape, spanning NPUs, models and data centers

[Financial News] Domestic AI semiconductor, language-model, cloud, server and data-center companies are combining their technologies to develop an integrated sovereign AI infrastructure product.
OCHestro Cloud said it had signed an MOU with Furiosa AI, Upstage Co., Ltd., SPK Inc. (SPK) and Daewon CTS on the 16th for the “joint development of an NPU-based sovereign AI full-stack product.”
The “sovereign AI full-stack appliance” to be developed by the five companies is an integrated product that provides everything from AI computing and cloud infrastructure to model inference, operation and management in a single environment. Until now, building an AI service required separately adopting and integrating semiconductors, servers, cloud platforms and AI models. The participating companies plan to bring the related technologies together in one product to simplify infrastructure deployment and operations.
OCHestro Cloud will provide the cloud platform and oversee technical validation of the integrated environment. The companies plan to combine OCHestro’s server virtualization solution CONTRABASS and Ceph-based software-defined storage (SDS) with Furiosa AI’s neural processing unit (NPU), RNGD, and Upstage Co., Ltd.’s large language model (LLM), SOLAR, connecting the management of AI computing resources with model inference.
The participating companies will also have distinct roles. Furiosa AI will provide NPUs and AI computing technology, while Upstage Co., Ltd. will provide AI model and inference technologies based on SOLAR. SPK will be responsible for servers and hardware, and Daewon CTS for data-center and network infrastructure. OCHestro will provide full-stack AI infrastructure software, while OCHestro Cloud will contribute its deployment and operations capabilities.
The participating companies aim to reduce reliance on foreign GPUs and cloud technologies and build AI infrastructure centered on domestic technology. They plan to help public institutions and businesses gain control over their data and AI operating environments, enabling them to build and operate AI services in their own environments.
The five companies plan to pursue commercialization of the integrated product and develop a managed service that also provides operations and technical support after deployment. They will conduct joint sales and marketing aimed at public institutions and private-sector companies, and pursue proof-of-concept (PoC) evaluations, benchmark tests (BMT) and joint proposals.
“The competitiveness of the AI industry depends not only on the excellence of individual technologies but also on how fully they are realized as services,” said Park So-a, CEO of OCHestro Cloud. “We will introduce an integrated product spanning AI computing, model inference, and infrastructure operations and management, and set a new standard for Korea’s AI infrastructure market.”
[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter