Google to Open AI Campus in Korea, Sends at Least Ten Researchers

Korea aims to rank among the world’s top three AI (artificial intelligence) leaders alongside the United States and China. The government’s K‑Moonshot project ties AI to national challenges in biotech, energy, space and semiconductors. Google DeepMind first gained fame in Korea when AlphaGo beat Lee Se‑dol in 2016, a match held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul.

- Google plans to launch an AI campus in Korea within this year. - Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and co‑winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold, agreed to dispatch at least ten researchers to the campus. - The campus will be Google DeepMind’s first overseas site outside its United Kingdom headquarters.

The campus will give Korean startups and researchers direct access to Google’s AI expertise, potentially accelerating the K‑Moonshot goals. Sending ten researchers signals a concrete commitment beyond a memorandum of understanding. Observers should watch for the campus opening date, the specific research projects launched, and any policy developments on AI safety that emerge from the Korea‑UK‑Singapore cooperation Hassabis mentioned.