On the 17th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 16th that it will open the large-scale language model (LLM) infrastructure of large corporations to innovative artificial intelligence (AI) startups and commercialize AI solutions optimized for specific industries through collaboration by launching the 'AI Startup LLM Challenge' project.
This announcement was made to improve productivity through artificial intelligence transformation (AX) led by AI startups in industries and corporations while securing new market access for AI startups.
This challenge will include three global corporations, including KT, Naver Cloud, and Oracle, which have their own LLMs, soliciting a total of 19 AX projects. They plan to select a total of 20 companies based on evaluations of AI startups' technological capabilities. Collaboration funding will support up to 100 million won per AI startup.
First, KT will recruit six AI startups to participate in five projects such as AI security solutions and report and content generation agents using its own LLM, 'Mit:um 2.0'. KT will provide AI startups with a development environment using LLMs, opportunities for technical validation (PoC) with in-house agents, and cloud testing environments for service testing. Excellent corporations will be supported in securing market access through opportunities to participate in external business consortiums and joint commercialization.
Naver Cloud will recruit eight AI startups to participate in eight projects, including the development of advanced data-driven sales, inventory, and demand forecasting AI agents using its LLM, HyperCLOVA X. Naver Cloud will provide AI startups with Naver Cloud credits, office hours, infrastructure architecture, and security consulting. For outstanding corporations, it plans to support securing new market access through opportunities to enter the Naver Cloud Marketplace and introduce solutions from matched partner companies.
Oracle will recruit six AI startups to participate in six projects developing industry-specific AI solutions in manufacturing and finance using its OCI Generative AI. It will provide startups with a cloud testing environment for AI services, consulting, and cloud credits for technical validation (PoC). Excellent corporations will be supported in registering their solutions in the global marketplace and securing global market access through business matching with global partners.
Applications for this announcement will be accepted from July 17 to August 6. Detailed information can be found on the K-Startup website and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website.