South Korea to spend $1T on more memory chip production and humanoid robots
Ars Technica AI · Jeremy Hsu · 2026-06-29
South Korea's government and leading tech companies are committing $1 trillion to expand memory chip production, build AI data centers, and achieve commercial deployment of humanoid robots by 2028, framing the initiative as a national competitiveness imperative.
Extraction
Topics: south-koreasemiconductor-investmenthumanoid-robotsai-infrastructuregovernment-tech-policy
Claims
- South Korea's government and major tech companies are committing $1 trillion to memory chip production, AI data centers, and humanoid robot development.
- Samsung and SK Hynix have seen record profits and stock valuations due to AI-driven memory demand, which has caused supply shortages and higher consumer electronics prices.
- Hyundai Motor Company is racing to mass manufacture Boston Dynamics humanoid robots for commercial deployment in automotive factories by 2028.
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung declared semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers the 'triple axis for a great leap forward.'
Key quotes
We must secure the core elements of AI faster than any other country. — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung
Semiconductors, physical AI, and AI data centers are the triple axis for a great leap forward.