Nvidia and Amazon have announced a partnership with the University of Washington in the US that is part of a broader US-Japan multi-year collaboration worth $110 million in investment, designed to fund academic research into AI that can filter into product development in industry. Microsoft has also announced a UK hub for AI research that will focus on algorithm and large language model development. Meanwhile, South Korea has committed to a $7 billion national investment in semiconductors by 2027, with a ‘national AI committee’ being established to coordinate the overall strategy and public-private partnerships.
These developments, among others, reflect AI’s rapid momentum in the here and now. The investments also underscore recognition of the technology as a paradigm shift in computing and a national strategic asset that will require governments – as much as the private sector – to understand how to nurture its development and regulation.