Korean AI Startup Alliance: Upstage LLM to Be Integrated into FuriosaAI NPU

Combination of Domestic LLM and AI Semiconductor
"A Step Toward AI Industry Self-Reliance"

Upstage's proprietary large language model (LLM) will be integrated into FuriosaAI's next-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Upstage announced on the 25th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FuriosaAI for 'Neural Processing Unit (NPU)-based generative AI business collaboration.'

Upstage announced on the 25th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with FuriosaAI for 'Neural Processing Unit (NPU)-based generative AI business collaboration.' Photo by Upstage

The signing ceremony was held at FuriosaAI's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the same day, and was attended by key officials from both companies, including Lee Hwalseok, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Upstage, and Baek Junho, CEO of FuriosaAI.

The core of this collaboration is the combination of a domestically developed NPU and LLM. Upstage plans to optimize and deploy its proprietary large language model (LLM), 'Solar,' on FuriosaAI's next-generation NPU, 'Renegade.' In addition, the two companies will jointly pursue on-premise AI deployment projects based on NPU technology, targeting not only the domestic market but also the global market.

Upstage emphasized that this partnership is significant because domestic AI software and hardware companies are joining forces at a time when the AI semiconductor market is effectively monopolized by Nvidia of the United States. Upstage further explained that the commercialization of generative AI solutions based on domestically developed NPUs will reduce dependence on foreign technology, contribute to the self-reliance of AI infrastructure, and help secure technological sovereignty.

Previously, in 2022, Upstage integrated its optical character recognition (OCR) solution into FuriosaAI's first-generation NPU, 'Warboy.'

The two companies plan to continue expanding the scope of their cooperation in the field of AI technology. Kim Sunghoon, CEO of Upstage, stated, "This collaboration, which realizes both AI software and hardware entirely with domestic technology, is a meaningful step toward the self-reliance of the domestic AI industry," adding, "Upstage will continue to demonstrate the technological competitiveness of 'K-AI' in the global market through close cooperation with FuriosaAI."