Science ministry designates 13 products for public procurement

The science ministry said Thursday it had granted innovation-product designations to 13 new offerings, including South Korean artificial-intelligence semiconductor products, giving their developers access to public-procurement opportunities.

The group includes AI chips made by Rebellions, FuriosaAI and DeepX. Several of the new designations cover locally developed AI chips based on neural processing units, broadening the basis for government research outcomes to be used in the public sector. The ministry said the chips could reduce the AI market's dependence on foreign graphics processing units and help establish a foundation for a self-reliant domestic AI ecosystem.

Products receiving the designation can enter direct contracts with government and local authorities for three years, with extensions of up to six years. They are also eligible for a pilot-purchase program budgeted at 83.9 billion won in 2026.

Other designations include AI medical-imaging software, AI-powered nondestructive-testing and ransomware-detection software, smart glasses, a signal-detection antenna, a magnetocardiography system and a precast retaining wall.

"The ultimate goal of government research and development is for outstanding research outcomes not to remain in laboratories, but to spread into technologies and products people can experience," Koo Hyuk-chae, the science ministry's first vice minister, said.