Seoul: South Korea plans to purchase more than 35,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) over the next two years as part of a nationwide push to strengthen artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the science minister said Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon announced the plan during a parliamentary session, explaining the government's long-term goal of securing 50,000 GPUs by 2030. The initiative is part of a broader effort to establish South Korea as a global leader in AI by the end of the decade.

The government has outlined a vision to achieve AI leadership through its "AI Highway" initiative. This plan involves creating a national AI data center equipped with the 50,000 GPUs needed to support advanced AI research and development.

As part of this initiative, the government has launched a project aimed at developing homegrown AI foundation models. The project includes financial support for research and development and provides access to government resources. Five companies-Naver Cloud Corp., Upstage, SK Telecom Co., NC AI Co., and LG AI Research-are participating in this effort, signaling a collaborative approach between the public and private sectors in advancing AI capabilities in South Korea.