South Korea Plans $7 Billion ‘AI for All’ Push

Artificial intelligence is becoming a gateway to work, education and public services, but access remains uneven. About one-third of South Koreans have yet to use AI, while most generative-AI users rely on limited free tiers from foreign platforms. The Ministry of Science and ICT, or MSIT, is positioning domestically developed AI as public infrastructure to narrow the digital divide and reduce exposure to price increases or service changes by global technology companies.

MSIT on July 13, 2026, opened bidding for the AI for All Project through August 11, seeking two to three private operators. A beta is due at the end of September, with a free, unlimited general-purpose chatbot and public-service AI agent scheduled for nationwide rollout by year-end. The government will provide as many as 512 Nvidia B200 GPUs this year; operating costs will shift to the national budget from 2027, though no won amount was disclosed. At least 50% of each service must use qualifying Korean sovereign foundation models.

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a nationwide artificial-intelligence initiative designed to lower the cost of developing and accessing generative AI services. By supplying scarce, high-end computing capacity to private-sector developers, the government aims to make AI tools available to the public at no charge while strengthening the country’s domestic model ecosystem and reducing reliance on foreign large language models.

Under the latest tender, selected companies will receive subsidized computing capacity backed by 512 NVIDIA B200 GPUs to build free AI services for nationwide use. The program requires South Korean-developed models to account for at least 80% of service output, tying public support to domestic adoption. Following development and testing by the winning operators, the services are scheduled to open across South Korea in December 2026.

South Korea regards AI as central to national competitiveness and industrial upgrading. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Science and ICT are supporting domestic models, AI semiconductors and computing infrastructure. With companies such as Nvidia dominating the global supply chain, the government aims to seize a critical window over the next one to two years, reduce reliance on overseas technology and make South Korea one of the world’s top three AI powers.

On May 27, 2026, Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Cho Yong-beom said during a meeting with startups including FuriosaAI in Seoul that the government would invest 9.9 trillion won, or about $6.6 billion, this year to build AI infrastructure including GPUs and restructure fiscal spending. The Ministry of Science and ICT will also deploy domestically developed AI in research and development budget reviews, local administration and care services.