The funding is aimed at accelerating Rebellions’ development of next-generation AI chips, including flagship products designed to boost efficiency and performance in machine learning workloads.

State-backed institutions will lead the investment, signaling strong government support for Korea’s domestic AI semiconductor development.

Rebellions, founded in 2020, designs neural processing units for AI computations and plans to use the funding to move toward mass production of NPUs and next-generation semiconductors.

Rebellions specializes in AI chips optimized for data centers and financial services, aiming to become a key player in Korea’s AI hardware ecosystem.

The investment was approved at a National Growth Fund fund management committee meeting and marks the first direct investment under the K-Nvidia initiative.

The decision underscores official backing for Rebellions’ mass production and product development as part of Korea’s push to nurture a globally competitive AI chip company.

This is the first direct commitment under the National Growth Fund’s K-Nvidia program, a state-led effort to bolster domestic AI chip capabilities.

The broader policy aims to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and build a robust pipeline of domestic semiconductor firms capable of competing on the global stage.

Experts note Korea needs more AI chip design talent beyond incumbents like Samsung and SK Hynix, and support for startups could diversify and strengthen the sector.

South Korea is advancing a broader strategy to compete in global semiconductor technology, prioritizing AI chips for data centers and cloud computing as international competition tightens.

A government-backed initiative, led by the Financial Services Commission, approved a 250 billion won investment (about $166 million) in Rebellions, an AI chip startup, through advisory and funding channels.

The K-Nvidia project, coordinated by the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT, seeks to strengthen the domestic AI chip supply chain and lessen dependence on foreign technology amid rising demand for high-performance computing chips.