- The second phase of the Physical AI Alliance was reorganized into an action-oriented structure based on key tasks identified during the first phase.
- The Alliance’s second phase has begun full operation as a ‘Physical AI Total Solution Platform’ to secure K-Physical AI Full Stack and accelerate deployment and adoption across all industries.
- The Alliance also aims to connect technology development outcomes with real-world demand in cooperation with relevant ministries and industry alliances.
[Relevant National Task]
22. Securing “unmatched” frontier technologies and talent in artificial intelligence (AI).
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister: Bae Kyung-hoon) held a launch ceremony for the second phase of the Physical AI Alliance at The Plaza Seoul (Grand Ballroom) on June 19, attended by representatives from industry, academia, and research institutes, associations, and organizations on the physical AI sector.
For the ceremony, around 200 participants joined to support the launch of the Alliance’s second phase. The participants include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae, National Assembly members Chung Dong-young, Choi Hyung-du, and Hwang Junga, Chairman Joh Joon-hee of Korea AI·Software Industry Association (KOSA), the heads of the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), and the National Information Society Agency (NIA), officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), and representatives from industry, academia, research institutes, associations, and related organizations.
The global AI race is rapidly expanding beyond screen-based generative AI to physical AI that operates in the real world, and physical AI is emerging as a key driver that boosts productivity and efficiency across major industries such as manufacturing, autonomous driving, shipbuilding, healthcare, and defense.
As part of efforts to proactively respond to this global trend, MSIT launched the first phase of the Physical AI Alliance last September. As the starting point for public-private cooperation in physical AI, the Alliance identified industrial needs and challenges, discussed policy directions, and set out key tasks to foster Korea’s domestic physical AI ecosystem. This marked an important first step in recognizing physical AI as a next-generation strategic technology and establishing an initial foundation for coordinated public-private action.
However, to seize the “golden time” of gaining competitive edge in physical AI, the Alliance needs to move beyond policy proposals and discussions toward an “action-oriented cooperation system” that connects actual technology development to industrial application, standardization, and security. In particular, physical AI is not a technology that can be realized through AI models alone. It requires the integration of data, semiconductors, software, communication networks, and computing infrastructure to operate properly in real industrial settings. Therefore, a public-private cooperation system that organically connects industrial data and field experience from demand-side companies, technical capabilities from suppliers, universities, and research institutions, and policy and institutional support from the government is essential.
Building on the cooperative foundation and key outcomes established during the first phase, MSIT has launched the second phase of the Alliance to further strengthen this public-private cooperation system and serve as a “Physical AI Total Solution Platform” that supports the entire cycle from technology development to real-world application, implementation, and operation. The second phase of the Alliance focuses on three key directions.
First, securing a “K-Physical AI Full Stack.” The focus is to reduce dependence on foreign solutions while integrating domestic AI semiconductors, AI models, software, robots and sensors, and computing infrastructure to secure proprietary core physical AI technologies.
Second, advancing toward a “Physical AI Total Solution Platform.” Moving beyond cooperation centered on model and solution development, the second phase of the Alliance will expand its function into a full-cycle cooperation platform encompassing communication networks, system integration, data centers, security, standardization and certification, and operations to ensure that developed physical AI technologies can be deployed and adopted in real industrial settings.
Third, expanding across industries beyond manufacturing. As physical AI is a general-purpose technology that is not restricted to manufacturing only, it can also be applied to a wide range of industries including logistics, agriculture, healthcare, defense, public administration, and disaster safety. The second phase of the Alliance will serve as a higher-level cooperation platform connecting industry demand to technology providers’ capabilities.
To support these goals, MSIT has swiftly reorganized the operating structure of the Alliance. The Alliance will adopt a co-chair system jointly led by MSIT and KOSA to more closely connect government policy support with private-sector implementation capabilities and enhance the Alliance’s ability for operation.
In addition, the Alliance will streamline its existing ten subcommittees (five ecosystem-based and five domain-based subcommittees) into three core divisions. In line with the goals of “domestic technological self-reliance” and “expansion across all industries,” the new structure consists of the K-Physical AI Full Stack Division (technology self-reliance), the Vertical Industry Bridge Division (domain expansion), and the Foundational Governance Division (standards and security). Action groups will be established under each division to identify tasks and develop projects.
MSIT has also significantly expanded the range of participating associations and organizations of the Alliance to support the full cycle from physical AI technology development to real-world implementation and operation. Now, twelve associations and organizations will participate, including KOSA, the Korea Physical AI Association, the Korea Association of AI Robot Industry (KAR), the Physical AI & Manufacturing Association (PAMA), the Korea Fabless Industry Association (KFIA), the Korea IT Service Industry Association (ITSA), the Korea Data Center Council (KDCC), the Korea Association for AI & ICT Promotion (KAIT), the Korea Information Security Industry Association (KISIA), the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), the 6G Forum, and the AI Network Alliance (AINA), supporting the physical AI cooperation system throughout its full lifecycle.
Each association and organization will collaborate based on its specialized expertise in areas such as AI model and software development, robot·sensor·edge device integration, AI semiconductor design, system integration and deployment, high-performance computing resource supply, stable low-latency network support, security requirements, and standardization and interoperability verification.
The Physical AI Alliance will also work closely with relevant government ministries and related alliances. The Alliance will serve as a higher-level cooperation platform that connects suppliers of core technologies with industry demand across all sectors. It will also coordinate with industry-specific alliances to help translate technology development outcomes into real industrial applications.
As for manufacturing, the Alliance will cooperate with the M.AX Alliance to connect the technologies and project outcomes identified and achieved through the Physical AI Alliance with industrial demand, and to drive their demonstration and broader deployment. Through this effort, the government aims to build a public-private cooperation ecosystem that ensures the full cycle from technology development to real world applications so that physical AI technology supply and industrial demand cannot be disconnected.
Ahead of the main ceremony, attendees watched technology demonstrations by domestic physical AI companies. The demonstrations highlighted how rapidly the core elements of physical AI such as robotic intelligence, field data, and autonomous decision-making and action technologies are advancing. RLWRLD, a physical AI company, demonstrated a highly sophisticated technology in which two robots cooperated to pack computer mice and place them in designated locations. The demonstration showed that its next-generation physical AI model, “RLDX-1*,” is a general-purpose model not limited to specific hardware, while also demonstrating world-class technology capable of controlling delicate fingertip force in real time.
*The RLDX-1 scored 70.6 on RoboCasa Kitchen, a global benchmark, becoming the first to break the 70-point mark, and ranked first on the Tabletop benchmark for humanoid robots, outperforming Nvidia’s latest model, GROOT N1.6 by 10.7 percentage points.
Maum AI also showcased its technological achievements across the physical AI workflow, from world model-based AI training to on-device execution and application in finished robots. The company exhibited “MAIED,” an autonomous intelligence module capable of perception and decision-making within physical AI devices without relying on the cloud, and “Jindobot,” a quadruped robot platform. Through these exhibitions, Maum AI demonstrated the potential of on-device physical AI technology that enables robots to recognize their surroundings, understand conversations and commands, and perform tasks such as patrol and safety management.
“When the Physical AI Alliance was first launched last September, physical AI was still an unfamiliar concept to many people, but in less than a year it has emerged as a central paradigm in global AI competition,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae said. “To stay ahead in the physical AI race, we must secure proprietary technological capabilities and the foundation for industrial expansion,” he added.
“This reorganization is meaningful because the Physical AI Alliance has evolved into a ‘Physical AI Total Solution Platform’ that connects technology development outcomes to real-world applications and feeds the data and demand generated in the field back into further technology development,” he emphasized.
For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4034, E-mail: msitmedia@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Please refer to the attached PDF.