The Ministry of Science and ICT has selected the HyperExcel-Rebellion consortium, formed primarily around domestic fabless companies (specialized in semiconductor design), as the organization responsible for overseeing the 'K-Cloud technology development project utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.'
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 8th that it has selected research and development institutions to carry out the first-year tasks of the K-Cloud technology development project to be newly promoted this year. This project focuses on developing core technologies for data center hardware (HW) and software (SW) to establish and operate commercial AI computing infrastructure based on domestic AI semiconductors. It will proceed with a total budget of 403.1 billion won (342.6 billion won from the national budget) until 2030, having passed a preliminary feasibility study in June last year.
The HyperExcel-Rebellion consortium will perform a project management task that integrates performance across strategic sectors and derives the final deliverables of the project. The consortium plans to develop composable servers by integrating infrastructure and HW tasks and applying the results of computing SW and cloud tasks to verify the final outcomes of the project. Composable servers refer to devices that optimally allocate and operate computing resources to enhance the cost efficiency of data center operations.
A representative task that consolidates achievements in the computing SW sector, a critical aspect of competitiveness in AI computing infrastructure, has been selected as the consortium led by More, an AI computing infrastructure SW specialized company. The computing SW sector plans to develop based on open source to ensure applicability across domestic AI semiconductors, as it does not rely on specific products, thus creating an open ecosystem. The leading task in the cloud sector has been selected as a consortium consisting of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), and others from the research community and the Cloud Industry Association.
Companies in the HW sector, such as Dinotisia and Panesia, as well as software companies like LevelUp, Orchestra, and Cryptolab, along with major domestic universities such as Seoul National University and Yonsei University, have also been selected as leading organizations. Companies operating AI computing infrastructure, including Naver Cloud, NHN, and SK Telecom, will also participate in the project as collaborators.
The Ministry of Science and ICT will operate a separate 'K-Cloud technology development business group' overseeing the entire project. It plans to support exchanges, cooperation, and the dissemination of achievements among members of the domestic AI computing ecosystem covering everything from AI semiconductors to AI computing infrastructure HW and SW, and cloud.
Park Tae-wan, director of the Information and Communication Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, noted, 'Beyond the localization of AI semiconductors, we will successfully advance the K-Cloud technology development project to complete AI computing infrastructure, which is a core competitiveness in the AI era with our technology, thereby securing global-level AI computing industry competitiveness.'