Much has been made of the artificial intelligence race between the United States and China, but it’s South Korea that’s currently making significant headway in its ambitious AI buildout.
In June, President Lee Jae-myung announced plans for at least $880 billion of investments to build out the country’s chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence capabilities over the years ahead. The plans come as part of the country’s Three Mega Projects to develop new chip production hubs domestically, as well as data centers and robotics technology.
While the investment is also focused on boosting the economies of areas outside of Seoul, Lee pointedly claimed that South Korea must outpace regional rivals like China, Taiwan, and Japan, all of whom are investing heavily in chip factories and other advanced technologies as part of a widespread AI boom period.
South Korea has already emerged as an early AI leader thanks to the whirlwind success of its chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, both of which currently make up the lion’s share (around 51 percent) of the nation’s total benchmark KOSPI index market capitalization.
The rise of South Korea’s artificial intelligence chipmakers has been nothing short of emphatic. At the time of writing, SK Hynix’s five-year growth spurt sits at precisely 1,250 percent, while Samsung’s 205 percent rally over the same period is a wild success for a company that’s already long been established as one of the largest in Asia.
