A decade ago, the landmark AlphaGo contest in Seoul mesmerized the globe and demonstrated the remarkable possibilities of artificial intelligence. In conjunction with this milestone anniversary, we are pleased to announce a major new partnership between Google DeepMind and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). Together, we share the vision that AI will be a key driver of national economic growth. Korea stands in a unique position to lead this shift, as AI capabilities increasingly form the bedrock of its future workforce and innovation ecosystem. South Korea currently ranks first globally in AI innovation density and exhibits the world’s fastest-growing AI adoption rate among the top 30 economies. As part of Google DeepMind’s National Partnerships for AI initiative, the collaboration aims to advance Korea’s national AI strategy, foster a vibrant AI ecosystem, and speed up transformative breakthroughs in key areas such as life sciences, weather, and climate. Google DeepMind Co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis is meeting with President Lee Jae-myung in Seoul today to bring frontier AI models to Korea’s scientific community. Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has just introduced the K-Moonshot Missions, a program designed to dramatically boost research productivity and tackle major national challenges. To support this goal, Google will open an AI Campus inside its Seoul offices. The new facility will serve as a collaborative hub where Korean universities and research institutions can work with Google’s top AI specialists, accelerating scientific discoveries through joint research, access to cutting-edge AI for Science models, and dedicated programs and events. We will start by examining partnerships with research-focused organizations such as Seoul National University (SNU), the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and the Ministry’s three AI Bio Innovation Hubs, applying our models to areas including life sciences, energy, weather, and climate, for example:. AlphaEvolve – a Gemini-powered coding agent designed to create and optimize cutting-edge algorithms. This has demonstrated significant benefits across numerous fields in computing and mathematics, with similar breakthroughs now emerging in drug discovery and energy. AlphaGenome is an AI model designed to help scientists better understand how mutations in human DNA sequences affect a wide range of gene functions, accelerating genome biology research and improving our understanding of diseases. AlphaFold, already utilized by over 85,000 researchers in Korea, will be explored for accelerating AI-powered predictions of proteins, DNA, and RNA. The AI co-scientist is a multi-agent AI system that serves as a virtual scientific collaborator, assisting researchers in brainstorming and validating hypotheses.
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