▲ A blueprint of the AI Integrated Complex /Photo: Gwangju Metropolitan City

Last year, Gwangju held a ceremony to declare its vision and strategy of becoming ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)-centered City Gwangju’ and is putting in a lot of effort to develop as an AI-centered city. The city decided to invest in establishing an AI Integrated Complex for the first time in Korea and has provided various ways to support AI-based companies to foster the AI industry. As the importance of the AI industry grows, Gwangju’s projects related to AI are expected to lead a digital new deal for the post-Covid-19 era and to achieve successful results. The Chonnam Tribune briefly introduces the current situation and plans for the AI industry in Gwangju.

Developing an AI Empirical Pilot City

Gwangju is working on developing an empirical pilot city for the AI industry for the first time in the country. About 62 companies related to AI made agreements with the city to build the business foundations for the AI industry. There are diverse areas of expertise within the companies and institutions including the big data, health care and voice recognition fields. They moved their head offices or opened new offices in Gwangju, and these groups offered related jobs as well. Following this trend, the city opened the overall support center for AI companies. The center aims to solve difficulties that the companies encounter, to provide mentoring programs, and to attract investments for AI institutions.

Building Facilities to Create an AI Cluster

Gwangju announced that they secured about 805 billion won as a budget for major businesses in the AI industry. A total of seven projects, including AI conferences, an AI Integrated Complex and support for AI graduate school, are reflected in this year’s budget. In particular, the complex, which is scheduled to be completed in 2024, will enable us to create the infrastructure of AI industry that gathers resources for AI such as a technology and data center. It also leads to offering more jobs and raise human resources in the AI industry. With the full support of the government, Gwangju is predicted to be developed as the AI hub city.

By Jo Ye-rin, Student Editor

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