Archive · 20 Jan 2026
South Korea Launches AI Squid Game
South Korea has started a big competition called the 'AI Squid Game' to find the best local artificial intelligence (AI) teams.
This contest is like a survival game where teams show off their AI models, and the best ones move forward while others are eliminated.
The government wants to create its own advanced AI models to compete with those from the US and China.
Teams like LG, SK Group, and Upstage are still in the running, while others like Naver and NCSoft were eliminated.
The winners will get special benefits, and the government hopes this will help South Korea become a leader in AI technology.
The competition is intense, with teams working hard to improve their models and dealing with controversies about using foreign technology.
South Korea launched the 'AI Squid Game' competition to identify leading AI teams and develop homegrown AI models.
The competition is government-sponsored and will run for over a year, with eliminations every six months.
Teams from Naver Corp. and NCSoft Corp. were eliminated in the first round for using foreign technology.
LG, SK Group, and Upstage remain in the competition, with winners expected to be announced in early 2027.
The government aims to create indigenous open-source AI models to compete with global leaders like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
- Who
- South Korean government, elite engineers, technology executives, investors, and AI teams from Naver Corp., NCSoft Corp., LG, SK Group, and Upstage
- What
- A government-sponsored AI competition called the 'AI Squid Game' to identify leaders in AI development
- When
- Unveiled in August, with eliminations starting in late 2023 and winners expected in early 2027
- Where
- Seoul, South Korea
- Why
- To bolster a homegrown AI industry and compete with US and Chinese AI advancements
- Event Name
- AI Squid Game
- Location
- Seoul, South Korea
- Duration
- More than a year
- Organizer
- Ministry of Science and ICT
- Initial Teams
- Naver Corp., NCSoft Corp., LG, SK Group, Upstage
- Expected Winners
- Early 2027
- Government Goal
- Develop indigenous open-source AI models
- Controversy
- Use of foreign technology by some teams
