South Korean AI startup Upstage announced a potential collaboration with US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Thursday, focusing on the development of next-generation AI models and bolstering Korea’s artificial intelligence ecosystem.
Upstage CEO Kim Sung-hoon met with AMD CEO Lisa Su in Seoul to discuss avenues for cooperation. AMD previously participated in Upstage’s Series B funding round, solidifying their existing relationship.
The partnership aims to leverage AMD’s advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) to enhance Upstage’s proprietary language model, Solar, over the next year. Furthermore, these GPUs will play a crucial role in developing a national AI model as part of the government’s “sovereign AI” foundation model initiative.
“We need a lot of chips,” Kim emphasized at a press briefing, highlighting the significance of acquiring high-performance GPUs at competitive prices.
He further stated that the collaboration is essential for improving both Solar and the national AI model, ultimately strengthening Korea’s overall AI competitiveness.
Su noted that the partnership will combine the power of AMD’s Instinct GPUs and the ROCm open software platform with Upstage’s advanced AI capabilities.
“This collaboration will help advance Korea’s sovereign AI and accelerate innovation with high performance and an open ecosystem,” she stated.
yeeun
