Naver Cloud selected for govt.-backed cybersecurity AI model project

Naver Cloud Corp. has been selected to lead a government-backed project to develop an AI foundation model specialized in cybersecurity, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. The consortium, comprising 32 companies and institutions including LG CNS Co. and LG Uplus Corp., will receive up to 256 Nvidia B200 GPUs over the next 10 months, with a contract expected later this month.

A consortium led by Naver Cloud Corp. has been selected for a government project to develop an artificial intelligence foundation model specialized in cybersecurity, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Thursday. The cloud and AI arm of portal operator Naver Corp. beat a rival consortium led by SK Telecom Co., earning high marks for its broad industry-academia-research partnership, technological capabilities and development strategy, among other factors, the ministry said. The Naver Cloud consortium comprises 32 companies and institutions, including LG CNS Co. and LG Uplus Corp., as well as major domestic universities and research organizations. The government plans to provide the consortium with up to 256 Nvidia B200 graphics processing units over the next 10 months to support the development of the model. The ministry said it plans to sign a contract with the consortium later this month, paving the way for full-scale development. The project aims to develop a sovereign cybersecurity AI model tailored to South Korea's security environment amid growing cyber risks stemming from rapidly evolving AI technologies. Yonhap