The collaboration will provide world-class AI infrastructure, research funding, internships and joint employment to advance the development of agent AI models for Korea
News summary:
- NVIDIA and KAIST are launching a joint AI research lab at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul, dedicated to advancing agentic AI models and agent systems designed for South Korea’s industry, language and future.
- The collaboration includes computational contributions, funding of at least 10 KAIST researchers per year with NVIDIA internships, and full-time NVIDIA positions for top Korean researchers – opening new avenues for Korea’s AI talent.
- A key focus is developing models optimized for Korea using open NVIDIA Nemotron models and local NVIDIA Cloud partner infrastructure to build a pipeline from academic research to enterprise and national AI deployments.
NVIDIA and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) today announced the launch of a joint AI research lab at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul, dedicated to advancing agent AI for South Korea.
The collaboration will establish a robust academic AI research program that combines NVIDIA’s full-stack AI expertise, NVIDIA Nemotron™ open models and NVIDIA AI Cloud partner computing with the world-class academic talent of KAIST, one of Asia’s leading research universities.
“Korea is home to leading AI researchers and one of the most advanced technology ecosystems in the world,” said Bill Dally, chief scientist and senior vice president of research at NVIDIA. “The NVIDIA-KAIST joint research laboratory will provide a foundation for the next frontier of AI research to accelerate AI models and agent systems designed for Korea’s industries, language and future.”
“AI research is entering a new era – one that requires top talent, large-scale infrastructure and intensive collaboration between academia and industry,” said Hyunwoo Kim, a new faculty member at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, who will serve as head of the NVIDIA-KAIST joint laboratory upon joining KAIST. “Together, NVIDIA and the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI will pursue ambitious work to help Korea attract and retain world-class AI scientists while building enduring relationships with NVIDIA’s global research organization.”
Full-stack infrastructure, open models and collaboration are driving Korea’s AI future
The lab will be set up at the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI in Seoul. Headquartered in the Daejeon Technology Center, KAIST has a strong focus on public research in engineering, AI, semiconductor technology, robotics and digital humanities.
The joint lab plans to fund at least 10 KAIST researchers annually and provide each with internship opportunities at NVIDIA. Additionally, NVIDIA plans to hire exceptional Korean researchers for full-time positions. Together, these efforts will create better pathways for Korea’s top AI talent to pursue ambitious research, build long-term careers, and deepen global collaboration between academia and industry.
The $300 million collaboration is expected to include computational contributions of $50 million per year over an initial period of five years. The computing infrastructure of local NVIDIA cloud partners provides researchers with direct access to the latest NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
The lab’s priorities include developing models optimized for the Korean language and Korea-specific use cases, with NVIDIA Nemotron’s open models designed to advance the country’s AI capabilities and foster a pipeline from academic research to enterprise and national AI deployments.
https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-and-kaist-launch-joint-ai-research-lab-to-accelerate-ai-innovation-in-korea
