© Reuters. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a speech at the Meta Connect event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, Yoon’s office said, as the country’s technology powerhouses seek potential business tie ups with the U.S. company in areas like AI.
Zuckerberg arrived in South Korea late on Tuesday and met Samsung Electronics (LON:) Chairman Jay Y. Lee and LG Electronics CEO William Cho on Wednesday to discuss potential cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) technology.
Meta launched its latest mixed-reality headset, Quest 3, in June before rival Apple (NASDAQ:) ramped up competition this month with its Vision Pro device.
AI chip supply and expanding ecosystems for generative AI are key priorities for Meta this year, as the company seeks to get generative AI technology into its core social media products and hardware devices.
South Korea has announced measures to foster local AI development, including earmarking 55.8 billion won ($41.80 million) to provide text data for large language models, 22 billion won to develop core AI technology, providing large-capacity computing resources, and projects to embed AI into health, legal and other services, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
South Korea will host the next global AI Safety Summit in May.
Zuckerberg is on his first known visit to South Korea in about 10 years, as part of an Asian tour that includes stops in Japan and India.
($1 = 1,334.8900 won)
