- Reviewed the status of the planned acquisition of NVIDIA’s GPUs, the establishment of an AI center in Korea, and measures to support startups
- Discussed areas of cooperation with OpenAI in building AI infrastructure, nurturing AI talent, and ensuring AI safety
- Delivered a speech titled “Korea’s AI Policy and Vision” and discussed ways to support AI startups at the largest startup event hosted by an organization of Korean-American entrepreneurs
【Relevant National Task】 20. Establishing an “AI Highway” to Become a Top Three Global AI Powerhouse (AI G3)
Ryu Je-myung, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister: Bae Kyung-hoon), visited the headquarters of NVIDIA and OpenAI in California, United States, on January 9 (local time) to strengthen global public-private cooperation in artificial intelligence. He also attended the “UKF* 82 Startup Summit 2026” to present Korea's AI policy direction and encouraged local Korean-American entrepreneurs.
*UKF (United Korean Founders): A nonprofit organization founded in October 2024 by Lee Ki-ha and Jeong Sae-ju, and currently has approximately 1,500 members.
The visits to NVIDIA and OpenAI were intended to further advance AI cooperation, following President Lee Jae Myung’s meetings last October with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during which MSIT and the two companies discussed ways to collaborate in the AI sector.
At NVIDIA’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Vice Minister Ryu met with Jay Puri, Executive Vice President, to review the status of ongoing cooperation and discuss future plans.
During the meeting, Ryu and Puri reviewed the status of MSIT’s planned acquisition of advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) to ensure smooth progress, and discussed how public investments in AI infrastructure could serve as a catalyst for private-sector investments.
They also agreed on the necessity of establishing an NVIDIA research and development (R&D) center in Korea as soon as possible. Ryu introduced Korea’s “K-Digital Grand Championship,” a government initiative designed to support early-stage AI startups, while Puri presented NVIDIA’s “Inception Startup Grand Challenge,” and the two discussed ways to link the programs to create greater synergy in supporting AI startups.
Later in the day, Ryu visited OpenAI's headquarters in San Francisco, where he met with Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer. Following the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between MSIT and OpenAI on October 1, 2025, the two sides formed a joint working group to pursue follow-up measures and have since expanded cooperation.
The two exchanged views on key issues related to AI safety and reliability, exploring ways to broaden cooperation with relevant organizations. They also had in-depth discussions on AI education and training programs to realize Korea's national vision of "AI for All," as well as strategies for nurturing AI talent. In addition, they agreed to continue discussions through the joint working group on topics such as OpenAI's ongoing initiative to build AI data centers in Korea.
In addition to meetings with the two global AI companies, Ryu attended the "UKF 82 Startup Summit 2026," a regular networking event hosted by UKF, a nonprofit organization founded by Korean-American venture investors and startups in the United States. At the event, he delivered a presentation titled "Korea's AI Policy and Vision" and encouraged Korean-American entrepreneurs in attendance. He also discussed local AI investment trends and support measures for Korean AI startups seeking to enter the North American market with UKF co-founders and representatives of Korean-American venture capital firms and startups.
"Cooperation with OpenAI, NVIDIA, and the venture capital firms and startups led by Korean-American entrepreneurs can provide a valuable opportunity to engage with the global AI ecosystem, thereby elevating Korea’s AI capabilities to the next level,” said Ryu. “The government will continue to establish an open and sustainable framework for global AI cooperation to support Korea's goal of becoming one of the world's top three AI powerhouses," he added.
His recent visits were organized to assess progress in preparations to establish AI infrastructure as part of the government’s efforts under National Task No. 20, which aims to build an “AI Highway” to position Korea as an AI G3.
※ Details of National Task No. 20 include increasing national investment in GPUs and expanding AI infrastructure.
For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
※ Please refer to the attached PDF.