AMD secures major orders in Asia-Pacific: Korean AI startup plans to purchase 10,000 of the latest chips

```

South Korean AI startup Upstage is in talks with AMD to purchase 10,000 of the latest AI accelerator chips. This move not only signifies AMD’s important progress in expanding its computing power footprint in the Asia-Pacific market, but also reflects a strategic shift among Korean tech companies seeking to break free from sole reliance on Nvidia.

On March 23, according to Bloomberg, Upstage CEO Sung Kim met with AMD CEO Lisa Su in Seoul last week. The two sides discussed the procurement of AMD MI355 accelerator chips, with the intended purchase volume reaching 10,000 units.

Sung Kim said on Monday: “South Korea has a large number of Nvidia chips, but we want to diversify and include other chips such as AMD.”

Analysis points out this potential order is highly significant for AMD. If the deal goes through, it will open a new breakthrough for AMD in the Asia-Pacific AI computing power market, and add a competitive variable to Nvidia-dominated Korean AI infrastructure.

National AI Competition Drives Computing Power Demand

According to reports, Upstage’s large-scale procurement plan is closely related to Korea's government-led national AI strategy.

The company is one of four participating teams in a government-backed national AI foundational model competition. This contest has been dubbed the “AI Squid Game” by outsiders, borrowing imagery from the popular Netflix survival series, which reflects Korea’s ambition to join the ranks of global top-tier AI powers.

Under the competition rules, participating teams’ AI foundational models are evaluated and eliminated every six months by a review committee overseen by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT. Korea plans to select two finalists early next year. Winners will receive more Nvidia GPU resources as rewards.

The report notes that it is under this competitive pressure that Upstage is accelerating its computing power reserves. Sung Kim says the company is preparing for a new round of reviews this summer, planning to launch a large language model with about 200 billion parameters.

Alongside expanding computing power, Upstage is also building its own technological differentiation advantage. Sung Kim says the company’s core competitiveness lies in combining scale and efficiency to build high-performance models at relatively low cost, a strategy aimed at countering low-cost competitors from China.

This approach aligns closely with the current global AI industry’s cost pressures. As Chinese AI companies offer competitive models at lower prices, AI developers in Korea and other markets face the need to balance performance and cost.

In addition to domestic competition, Upstage is also eyeing overseas sovereign AI markets. Sung Kim says the company is targeting countries such as Vietnam and the UAE, planning to deliver sovereign AI systems deployable within their borders.

This strategy shows that while Upstage is participating in the domestic computing power arms race, it is also actively seeking to commercialize its technological capabilities and expand internationally.

Risk Disclaimer and Liability ClauseMarkets are risky and investments should be made cautiously. This article does not constitute individual investment advice and does not take into account any user's specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article fit their individual circumstances. If you invest accordingly, you are responsible for your own actions. ```