Upstage and Motif Technologies, among the participating companies in the Korean government's "Independent AI Foundation Model" project (Dokpamo), are racing to secure funding ahead of the second-stage evaluation in August. As competition in large language model (LLM) development extends beyond technological prowess to a battle for capital and infrastructure, the competitive landscape of Korea's AI industry is intensifying.
According to information technology (IT) industry sources on Tuesday, Upstage and Motif Technologies have recently raised substantial funding to accelerate the development of their independent AI models.
Upstage and Motif Buckle Down on LLM Development with Major Fundraising
Upstage is drawing in both private and public capital simultaneously. The National Growth Fund recently approved a 560 billion won direct equity investment in Upstage. The funding consists of 100 billion won from the Advanced Strategic Industries Fund, 30 billion won from the Korea Development Bank, and 430 billion won in private investment. The amount is exceptionally large for a single AI startup. Upstage is regarded as one of Korea's leading AI model companies, with its enterprise and government AI solutions and its proprietary LLM "Solar."
Motif Technologies has also joined the fundraising wave. Motif recently attracted 24 billion won in Series B investment. Existing investors NICE Investment Partners and Nautilus Investment participated as follow-on investors, while Ditto Investment and Forest Ventures joined as new investors. Motif, which promotes the development of an AI foundation model based on a "purely independent design" that does not directly adopt the structures of foreign open-source models, was selected as an elite team in the Ministry of Science and ICT's additional Dokpamo recruitment.
High-Cost AI Model Development… Participants Focus on Localization and Advancement
Currently, four companies—LG AI Research, SK Telecom, Upstage, and Motif—are competing in the Dokpamo project. LG AI Research and SK Telecom are leveraging group-level R&D capabilities and proprietary infrastructure rather than seeking external investment. LG AI Research is advancing model performance and industrial applicability centered on K-EXAONE, while SK Telecom is competing based on A.X K1, its GPU-as-a-service infrastructure, and its track record in public-sector demonstrations. While Upstage and Motif Technologies are bolstering their stamina through external fundraising, the elite teams from large corporations are preparing for the second evaluation by leveraging their own infrastructure and existing business foundations.
The reason participating companies are accelerating their efforts to secure capital and infrastructure lies in the high cost structure of foundation model development. Developing a large-scale AI model requires not only top research talent but also vast amounts of training data, high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs), and ongoing costs for model advancement and service operation. In particular, with global Big Tech firms pouring massive funds into model competition, analysts say domestic companies must combine private investment, policy financing, and government infrastructure support to sustain the race for independent models.
The government also views building an independent AI ecosystem as a strategic priority. The Dokpamo project was launched with the aim of reducing dependence on global AI models and securing AI models tailored to the Korean language and domestic industrial environment. The Ministry of Science and ICT outlined support for GPUs, data, and talent in the project announcement, and stated that elite teams selected through the additional recruitment may receive resources including 768 B200 GPUs and support for data construction and processing.
August Second Evaluation… Sovereign AI Competition in Full Swing
The second Dokpamo evaluation is expected to take place in August. The existing elite teams—LG AI Research, SK Telecom, and Upstage—are reportedly set to complete their model development by the end of June, while Motif, which joined later, is expected to finish by the end of July before undergoing evaluation. In the first evaluation, LG AI Research was assessed as a frontrunner, while SK Telecom highlighted its large-scale models and infrastructure, Upstage its global benchmark competitiveness, and Motif its independently designed model as their respective strengths.
This trend signals that the "sovereign AI" race is gaining momentum in Korea as well. Whereas domestic AI startup investment has so far focused on the growth potential of individual services or solutions, the rationale of national-level AI model sovereignty and industrial infrastructure is now being incorporated. Expectations are also growing that companies with proprietary AI models can serve as the foundation for the spread of AI transformation (AX) across industries such as public services, finance, manufacturing, and education.
"The second Dokpamo evaluation will be more than just a review of a government project—it will mark a turning point that determines leadership in the Korean AI ecosystem," an industry official said. "Not only technological maturity, model performance, and applicability, but also the capital strength and infrastructure capacity to advance these models over the long term will be put to the test."