South Korea and Singapore want to build their own lane in AI. Both countries acknowledge they’re behind the US-China leaders. The bilateral framework announced March 2 is a deliberate move to change that.
At the Korea-Singapore AI Connect Summit in Singapore, President Lee Jae Myung committed to establishing a Korea Venture Capital Corporation (K-VCC) global fund in Singapore targeting $300 million in investment by 2030. The fund vehicle doesn’t exist yet. South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to establish the first offshore global parent fund in Singapore in the second half of 2026, expanding toward that goal over subsequent years.
Alongside the fund announcement, Lee and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong formalized an AI Cooperation Framework. Seven memoranda of understanding between Korean and Singaporean companies and institutions were signed, covering sectors including autonomous driving. The Ministry of Science and ICT also announced an international joint R&D program worth 50 billion won (approximately $34.2 million) in AI.
The choice to base the fund in Singapore, not Seoul, matters. Singapore gives the fund international investor accessibility that a Seoul domicile wouldn’t offer. It positions both countries as a bridge between Asian AI ecosystems and global capital.
Lee was direct about the gap. He said both countries “possess world-class AI capabilities” but remain behind the two dominant powers. Whether a $300 million target by 2030 moves that needle against US-scale investment is an open question. The framework itself, seven signed MOUs, and a joint research program launching this year suggest the cooperation is real regardless of how the fund number lands.