South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with AMD on July 23 to jointly build an open AI computing ecosystem and establish an AI Center of Excellence in the country. The agreement, inked during AMD's Advancing AI 2026 conference in San Francisco, integrates AMD's CPUs and GPUs with Korean neural processing units (NPUs) and aims to connect domestic semiconductor, memory, and server companies to global supply chains as the government pursues a top-three global AI ranking.
Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su signed the deal, which includes quarterly working-group meetings to oversee implementation. The partnership builds on talks that began during Su's visit to Seoul in March and was finalized during President Lee Jae-myung's trip to the United States.
Heterogeneous infrastructure and supply chain integration
The two sides will validate computing infrastructure that combines AMD's CPUs and GPUs with South Korean NPUs, targeting an open ecosystem that spans domestic chipmakers, memory firms, DPU and CXL interconnect developers, networking vendors, server manufacturers, and orchestration software. The collaboration is designed to create reference platforms that give Korean AI chipmakers a faster path into international supply chains. For government planners, the partnership moves Seoul closer to the self-reliant yet open AI for Government infrastructure needed to compete globally.
Research infrastructure and workforce pipeline
AMD will support the National AI Research Infrastructure for Science (NAIS), supplying high-performance computing resources, AI software, and technical expertise for scientific research. The planned AI Center of Excellence will serve as a hub for Korean companies, universities, and research institutes to collaborate on AI semiconductor software development, technology validation, and joint research using AMD's computing platforms. That work aligns with the ministry's goal of giving the scientific community direct access to AI for Science & Research tools.
On the talent front, AMD will provide computing resources and AI platform-based education programs to leading Korean universities, allowing students, faculty, and researchers to work with advanced AI technologies in global development environments. The arrangement creates a pipeline of skilled workers for national AI infrastructure, filling a gap that many governments face when scaling compute capacity.
Leaders signal long-term intent
Bae said the global competition is moving toward open ecosystems that bring together diverse computing resources. "The global AI race is increasingly centered on open ecosystems that integrate diverse computing resources," he said, adding that South Korea must build both self-reliant and open AI infrastructure to become one of the world's three leading AI powers.
Su described South Korea as "one of AMD's most important strategic markets," pointing to its strengths in semiconductors, AI, advanced research, and physical AI. She said AMD would "actively support the country's efforts to build an open, heterogeneous AI infrastructure by combining its high-performance computing technologies, open software capabilities and global ecosystem partnerships."
Why this matters for government
The MOU is more than a hardware supply agreement. It ties national AI competitiveness to an open, multi-vendor architecture and gives Korean chipmakers a formal channel to qualify for global supply chains through reference platforms. The quarterly working-group mechanism provides government officials a direct line to align domestic R&D priorities with AMD's product roadmap, while the talent programs start building the workforce necessary to operate national-scale AI research infrastructure. For ministries that need to show measurable progress toward a top-three AI ranking, the deal delivers concrete deliverables: a physical center, integrated testbeds, and a recurring collaboration structure.
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