Seoul: Two artificial intelligence (AI) consortiums led by Naver Cloud Corp. and NC AI Co. have been eliminated from a government-led competition aimed at developing South Korea's own AI foundation models, according to the science ministry Thursday. The ministry announced the outcomes of the initial round of evaluations in the competition focused on creating state-funded foundation models to bolster the nation's future AI infrastructure.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the three remaining teams in the competition are spearheaded by SK Telecom Co., LG AI Research, and Upstage. An AI foundation model is a large-scale system designed on comprehensive data, capable of executing a broad array of tasks. The South Korean government aims to cultivate indigenous models to propel the country into becoming one of the leading three AI powerhouses globally.
The ministry stated that a comprehensive evaluation was conducted, considering diverse aspects like the models' mathematical capabilities, knowledge, and proficiency in understanding extended texts, with LG receiving the highest mark. A panel of experts and a user focus group executed separate evaluations, and LG attained the highest ratings in both assessments as well.
The Naver consortium was eliminated following experts' criticism that its AI model lacked originality, allegedly incorporating elements from the China-based Qwen model. "Even if we borrow from open sources, simply using pre-trained AI model weights is like piggybacking on others' work," remarked Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Je-myung during a press briefing in Seoul. Ryu emphasized the project's aim to initiate training and other development processes from scratch while remaining open to strategic use of open-source materials amid the AI surge.
The ministry plans to select an additional candidate consortium to join the competition later. Although dropped, Naver Cloud and NC AI consortiums can reapply for the competition. Naver Cloud expressed respect for the ministry's decision and pledged to continue efforts to enhance its AI technology competitiveness. However, a company official stated they are not considering reapplying. NC AI has not released an official statement, but a company representative conveyed uncertainty about reapplying.
The three consortiums that advanced to the next round welcomed the announcement. LG AI Research stated that its K-EXAONE model advanced with the highest marks, demonstrating its AI technical prowess. SK Telecom Co. expressed honor in progressing to the next stage and committed to contributing to making South Korea a top AI powerhouse. Upstage vowed to enhance its technical skills in collaboration with Stanford and New York Universities to develop a world-class model surpassing big-tech companies.
The National IT Industry Promotion Agency, overseeing the project, plans to select two teams by the end of the year. The ministry highlighted that the project has revitalized the nation's AI ecosystem by fostering collaboration among competitive businesses and research institutions. "This project is a historic challenge to face global AI competition with homegrown technologies," the ministry stated. "The government will secure a homegrown AI foundation model, establish a sustainable and healthy AI ecosystem, and utilize all available capacity and resources to take the lead in the global AI technology competition," it added.