Seoul: Three companies have progressed to the subsequent phase of a government-supported initiative aimed at developing a universally accessible artificial intelligence (AI) service, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced Tuesday. Telecommunications giant SK Telecom Co., LG AI Research, and AI startup Upstage, known for its foundation model Solar, have moved forward from a group of four finalists, the ministry revealed in a press release.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Motif Technologies was eliminated after ranking last in the second-round evaluation, which included benchmark tests and assessments by both experts and users. This advancement is part of the ministry's "AI for All" project, an effort to establish an "AI basic society" where AI services are available to individuals regardless of their income, age, or digital literacy.

The government intends to allocate up to 512 Nvidia B200 graphics processing units to two or three companies chosen for the project, with an expectation that they will launch their AI services within this year. By 2027, the government plans to provide financial support to cover the operational costs of the AI models on a national scale.

In a bid to diversify the local AI ecosystem, developers will need to incorporate South Korean AI models that comply with the ministry's independent standards for foundation models in at least half of their systems. Additionally, companies with proprietary foundation models will be required to integrate AI models developed by other South Korean firms in more than 30 percent of their systems.