Seoul, Dec 19 (IANS) The newly launched mega-sized Public Growth Fund will first be used to support the artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor and battery sectors, the chief of the state financial regulator said on Friday.

Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said the FSC has selected seven projects to be first funded by the 150 trillion-won (US$101.5 billion) fund during a policy briefing to President Lee Jae Myung, reports Yonhap news agency.

The projects include the development of advanced AI chip production facilities, large-scale graphic processing unit (GPU) clusters using the recently purchased GPUs from Nvidia, a national AI computing center and materials for secondary batteries.

Last week, the mega-sized fund, one of the Lee administration’s key economic pledges, set sail with a focus on accelerating AI adoption across sectors and channeling resources into key industries, including secondary batteries and biotechnology, over the next five years.

Lee said 40 percent of the fund will be used for investment projects that can help induce regional growth.

According to the FSC, over 30 trillion won will be invested next year, with the initial investments including 6 trillion won for the AI sector, 4.2 trillion won for the semiconductor segment and 3.1 trillion won in future mobility.

Meanwhile, South Korea seeks to begin staging nuclear fusion power generation tests in 2030 at the earliest, nearly 20 years ahead of its original schedule, the government announced on Friday, amid growing energy demand stemming from an artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

The National Fusion Energy Committee announced the blueprint outlining the direction of its research in the sector, along with goals to secure eight related critical technologies, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Nuclear fusion power is considered a promising option for generating cleaner and safer energy, as it does not produce any carbon emission while also generating less radioactive waste than nuclear fission.

—IANS

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