South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol / Photo credit: Elizabeth Fraser

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced that the country is targeting to spend 9.4 trillion won (US$6.94 billion) on AI by 2027, aiming to boost local semiconductor production, Reuters reported.

The government plans to boost research and development related to AI chips, a key part of its export-led economy. The focus is on next-generation artificial neural processing units – specialized chips for machine learning applications – and high-bandwidth memory chips.