Presidential AI committee discusses investment, cooperation with Amazon

The Amazon logo is displayed at a news conference in New York on Sept. 28, 2011. AP-Yonhap

Korea's presidential artificial intelligence (AI) committee said Friday it discussed investment in AI infrastructure with U.S. commerce giant Amazon.com.

Im Moon-young, vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, met with David Zapolsky, senior vice president of Amazon who oversees global affairs, in Seoul earlier in the day to discuss the U.S. company's investment in AI and cloud infrastructure in Korea, according to the committee.

During the meeting, Amazon said it will make proactive efforts to support Korean businesses' AI transformation by offering its cutting-edge computing infrastructure and fostering a development environment.

"It is important to establish the AI highway, which refers to infrastructure to create an innovative ecosystem in the AI sector," Im said. "Through Amazon's investment in AI infrastructure in Korea, I hope the country can leap forward as a global AI infrastructure hub."

In October, Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Officer Matt Garman met with Korean President Lee Jae Myung to outline the company's plan to invest about $5 billion by 2031 to establish new AI data centers in the country.

Im Moon-young, vice chair of the National AI Strategy Committee, third from right, with David Zapolsky, senior vice president of Amazon.com, third from left, in Seoul. Friday. Courtesy of the National AI Strategy Committee