Development of AI Agents for Science and Technology, Including Bio and Robotics
Final Results to Be Announced in April; Awards Ceremony to Be Held
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea announced the results of the preliminary screening for Track 2 of the '2026 Artificial Intelligence Research Colleague Competition' on January 19.
This competition was designed to explore effective ways to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) in scientific and technological research, and further, to examine both the potential and limitations of AI as a research colleague.
Track 2 focuses on the development of AI agents for science and technology research and development. Through approximately one month of application submissions, which closed on January 2, a total of 272 teams applied.
After two weeks of document and comprehensive review, 10 teams were selected, overcoming a competition rate of 27.2:1. The evaluation criteria included the impact, originality, specificity, feasibility of the AI agent development plans, and the validity of verification methods.
The selected teams, representing a range of sectors including industry, academia, research institutes, and hospitals, will develop AI agents that can be utilized in scientific and technological fields such as materials, bio, robotics, AI learning, and research support, with development tool costs such as GPU support provided until April 3.
The final results will be announced in April following the main evaluation, and an awards ceremony will be held. The developed AI agents will be made available to the public in the form of demonstrations and other formats.
Winners will receive GPU support through Supercomputers No. 5 and 6 for up to one year to further develop and train their AI agents. To promote demonstration and broader adoption, pilot implementation at government-funded research institutes under the National Research Council of Science & Technology is also being pursued. The grand prize-winning team will be eligible for up to 2.5 billion won in technology commercialization support from the Ministry of Science and ICT’s national R&D program for up to five years, based on their competition achievements.
Kim Sungsoo, Director General of R&D Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "In line with the paradigm shift toward AI-based research, we will continue to support scientific and technological innovation through AI, not only via competitions but also through R&D support programs."
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