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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korea’s government-backed growth fund has approved large-scale investments to support advanced industries, including artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, data centers, vaccines, and secondary batteries.
According to the Financial Services Commission on May 28, the fund’s investment committee approved five projects totaling KRW 4.14 trillion, including a direct investment of KRW 370 billion in FuriosaAI. The cumulative approved investment size of the fund has now reached KRW 12.5 trillion across 16 projects.
A key focus is the support for FuriosaAI, a domestic fabless AI semiconductor company, with total planned funding of KRW 800 billion to scale mass production of its neural processing units (NPUs) and develop next-generation chips. The government highlighted that this funding aims to help AI chip firms overcome the “death valley” phase before achieving meaningful revenue generation.
In parallel, the commission approved KRW 500 billion in investment and financing support for two AI data centers being developed by Smilegate in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The facilities will provide AI infrastructure not only for in-house use but also for small and mid-sized enterprises.
In the biotech sector, SK Bioscience will receive long-term, low-interest loans to develop a 21-valent pneumococcal vaccine and expand its vaccine manufacturing plant in Andong.
In the battery sector, L&F’s subsidiary will receive KRW 220 billion in financing to build South Korea’s first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode material plant, reflecting growing demand for energy storage systems.
The government stated that the initiative is part of its broader effort to expand “productive finance” and foster globally competitive industries, often referred to as the “K-NVIDIA” strategy.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
