SMEs and AI startups can access cloud-based Blackwell accelerators via NHN Cloud, starting in June
NVIDIA B200 “Blackwell” Accelerator.
A total of 264 high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) will be provided free of charge to small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises and artificial intelligence (AI) startups facing difficulties due to a lack of AI infrastructure.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced on April 21, “We will utilize 264 units of the B200 model GPU for the innovation of SMEs and startups.” This allocation was assigned through the National AI Project, which was approved at the Meeting of Science and Technology-Related Ministers held on March 31. The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is supporting various ministries’ projects with approximately 3,000 of the 10,000 GPUs secured through a supplementary budget.
In this project, the MSS has taken on two tasks: the ‘Development Project for Multi-AI Agents Specialized for SME Manufacturing’ and the ‘Project for Commercializing Strategic Technologies of Innovative AI Startups and Accelerating AI Transformation.’ Of the secured GPUs, 64 units have been allocated to the AI agent field, and 200 units to the support of super-gap startups.
The MSS will begin providing support this coming June after a public call for applications and a selection evaluation. Selected companies will receive free cloud-based services, allowing them to use the GPUs remotely in connection with the private data center NHN Cloud, until the end of the year.
The AI agent project targets consortiums composed of technology and manufacturing companies. It supports the entire process from technology development for manufacturing process and quality optimization to on-site application, and participating companies can utilize GPU resources at all stages, including securing manufacturing data, AI training, and technology demonstration.
A total of 200 units will be allocated to the super-gap startup field. Eighty-five units each will be assigned to the development of strategic AI combining the research capabilities of universities and government-funded research institutes, and to the development of industry-specific AI solutions based on inter-company collaboration. The remaining 30 units will be used for the ‘Everyone’s Startup’ program to reduce the burden on prospective entrepreneurs of securing GPUs.
Park Yong-soon, Director-General for SME Policy at the MSS, stated, “This GPU support will be of substantial help for the AI transformation of manufacturing sites and the growth of AI-based startups,” adding, “We will strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs by expanding the use of AI across all industries.”
Jung Suk-yee
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