Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Seoul National University to Jointly Develop AI Models for Manufacturing Sector

(Sejong=Yonhap Infomax) Eun Byul Yun = The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Seoul National University (SNU) have agreed to strengthen cooperation within the M.AX (Manufacturing AI Transformation) Alliance, including the joint development of manufacturing-focused AI models.

On the 24th, MOTIE announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SNU to enhance collaboration within the M.AX Alliance. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister Kim Jung Kwan and SNU President Yoo Hong Lim.

The M.AX Alliance, launched jointly by MOTIE and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in September, currently includes over 1,000 companies and institutions, such as Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's largest company by market value, and Hyundai Motor Co.

With this MOU, SNU will actively participate in the Alliance’s core initiatives, particularly in AI model development, utilization of manufacturing data, and workforce training.

Initially, SNU will collaborate with manufacturing companies within the Alliance to jointly develop AI models for deployment in humanoid robots, autonomous vehicles, and AI-powered factories.

Manufacturers will provide SNU with the necessary data for development, and SNU will use this data to create sector-specific AI models. These models will then be supplied back to the companies for integration into products and factories. MOTIE has recently launched related research projects to support these efforts.

SNU and the M.AX Alliance also plan to cooperate on the utilization of manufacturing data. By early next year, they aim to establish a framework for sharing manufacturing data collected through their respective R&D and AI factory initiatives.

Specifically, the plan includes jointly processing data through pre-processing, standardization, and anonymization, and leveraging it for AI model development and validation. To support this, MOTIE will begin planning and implementing a manufacturing data repository and utilization project starting next year.

SNU will also contribute to workforce development. MOTIE intends to provide SNU’s top students with various opportunities to participate in the Alliance through industry-academia collaboration projects and talent development programs.

In particular, leveraging this MOU, MOTIE will select outstanding students through SNU’s startup support group and offer them opportunities to participate in R&D projects and internship programs within the M.AX Alliance.

Minister Kim Jung Kwan stated, “When the manufacturing capabilities of Alliance member companies meet SNU’s research expertise and outstanding talent, the Alliance’s goal of making Korea a global leader in manufacturing AI transformation is no longer a distant future.”

ebyun@yna.co.kr

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