Kakao Group and South Korea’s 4 main science and expertise institutes are establishing “Kakao AI Dot,” an initiative to nurture regional AI expertise and companies.
Kakao Group introduced on the twenty third that it signed a memorandum of understanding on AI expertise improvement with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) on the KAIST Academic Cultural Center in Daejeon. Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon additionally attended the ceremony.
The settlement marks the primary concrete step towards AI expertise improvement and startup help, based mostly on a 50 billion gained AI improvement fund Kakao Group introduced in September final 12 months. The initiative additionally aligns with the “Four Science and Technology Institutes AX Strategy for Regional Talent Development and AX Innovation” unveiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the fifth Science and Technology Ministers’ Meeting on the eleventh.
Kakao AI Dot goals to construct AI ecosystems and speed up industrialization in areas outdoors the Seoul metropolitan space. It will actively help regional AI corporations’ growth into international markets. The title evokes a sail catching wind to propel a ship into the ocean, symbolizing help for AI expertise and corporations to beat regional limitations and leap into the worldwide market.
Key actions embody hands-on AI expertise improvement centered on the 4 institutes, startup help by way of matching with Kakao’s human and technological belongings, and industry-academia collaboration to unravel region-specific industrial challenges by way of AX initiatives. The program plans to determine a virtuous cycle mannequin for balanced regional progress powered by AI.
Kakao AI Dot has set a purpose of figuring out 100 AI startup groups by 2030 and nurturing them into globally aggressive progressive corporations. It will help the commercialization of deep-tech capabilities held by the 4 institutes and actively assist problem-solving, field-oriented expertise launch startups.
Kakao Group Chairperson Jeong Shin-ah mentioned, “The advent of the AI era has opened opportunities for even one-person companies to rapidly grow into global unicorns.” She added, “Kakao Group will serve as a strong sail so that AI-driven innovative companies reaching the world can emerge one after another from regional bases.”