my timesThe Korea Times
  1. South Korea
  2. Education

Seoul inks AI partnership with Imperial College London to boost European research

Listen
By Jhoo Dong-chan
  • Published Aug 19, 2026 1:57 pm KST
Gareth Weir, right, deputy ambassador at the British Embassy in Seoul, poses with representatives of Seoul AI Hub and Imperial College London during the signing ceremony at the British Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Gareth Weir, right, deputy ambassador at the British Embassy in Seoul, poses with representatives of Seoul AI Hub and Imperial College London during the signing ceremony at the British Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it is extending its network connecting the city's artificial intelligence (AI) startups with leading international researchers from North America to Europe, signing a partnership with Imperial College London after three years of collaboration with Canada's Mila AI institute.

The city and its AI industry hub, Seoul AI Hub, signed the agreement Tuesday at the British Embassy Seoul, establishing a framework for joint research, technology commercialization, researcher exchanges and support for startups entering the European market.

The signing ceremony was attended by Imperial College London Vice-Provost for Research and Enterprise Mary Ryan and British Embassy Deputy Ambassador Gareth Weir, along with officials from Seoul AI Hub.

Seoul AI Hub's international research partnerships began in 2023 with Mila, the AI institute in Quebec, Canada, founded by deep-learning researcher Yoshua Bengio.

Since then, the hub has supported 20 Seoul-based AI startups in joint projects with Mila researchers, including work on 3D facial modeling from single photos, automated inspection of circuit board defects and AI-based disease prediction using pet health records.

Under the new partnership, Seoul AI Hub will select two startups this October to spend 10 weeks in London working directly with Imperial College London researchers on a pilot joint-research program, with plans to expand the program's scope and duration based on the results.

A Seoul official said the partnership would help the city's AI startups tackle technical challenges they can't solve alone and position Seoul AI Hub as a hub connecting Seoul startups with leading global research institutions.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.