Korea’s “AI For All” Initiative: Government Tender for Free Local LLM Services with GPU Support

The Ministry of Science and ICT of South Korea released a tender inviting technology suppliers to develop a universal foundational AI chatbot and AI agents for government services under the “AI For All” program.

The program, which runs until a contract expires in 2031, commits the Seoul government to provide up to 256 Nvidia B200 GPUs and partial funding to the winning vendor, with the aim of offering every Korean citizen free access to a high‑quality AI chatbot.

The tender requires the selected provider to base the service on AI models developed in Korea, ensuring locally‑hosted and operated services that reflect domestic culture and reduce dependence on overseas vendors.

Bidders must submit proposals by 11 August; domestic tech giants Kakao, Naver, SK Telecom and LG have expressed interest in competing.

The announcement follows recent U.S. restrictions on Anthropic’s models, highlighting growing global attention to sovereign AI capabilities and the desire to prevent citizens from being excluded from AI services due to foreign policy decisions.

In a related 2026 second‑half business plan, the ministry outlined four “super projects,” the goal of an AI‑enabled society for all, and the ambition to build a world‑class scientific‑technology ecosystem.