Google DeepMind is set to establish its inaugural AI campus globally in Seoul.

      Demis Hassabis met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at Cheong Wa Dae on Monday, where they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Science and ICT. The artificial intelligence campus is set to begin operations within this year. Hassabis agreed to send at least 10 Google engineers from the US headquarters and gifted Lee a Go board signed by both him and Lee Se-dol.

      Google DeepMind will establish an AI campus in Seoul, South Korea, marking the company's first facility of its kind globally, following Hassabis's meeting with President Lee. Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, confirmed the deal. Later that same day, the Science Ministry and Google formalized the MOU regarding the campus at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, with Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon and Hassabis present. The campus is anticipated to open by 2026.

      The MOU encompasses collaborative AI research in science and technology, the development of AI skills, and the responsible application of AI. Hassabis stated he would actively consider sending Google researchers to Korea, with Kim reporting directly that “the CEO instantly accepted our request to send at least 10.” The campus aims to act as a hub that connects Google engineers with South Korean startups, researchers, and industrial firms.

      The Ministry of Science and ICT positioned it as a crucial component of Korea’s “K-Moonshot” initiative, uniting AI and scientific capabilities to tackle significant national challenges. South Korea aims to become one of the top three AI powerhouses globally alongside the United States and China.

      The venue and timing are particularly significant, as the 2016 match between Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo and Korean Go grandmaster Lee Se-dol was also held at the Four Seasons Hotel, the same place where the MOU was signed. AlphaGo’s 4–1 victory over Lee Se-dol in March 2016 is largely credited with spurring the current wave of investment in artificial intelligence by showcasing that deep learning could exceed human expert performance in a highly complex area.

      Hassabis referenced this during the meeting, mentioning that the AlphaGo match had “inspired many advances in AI, including its role in scientific endeavors like the AlphaFold system for protein folding.” AlphaFold subsequently addressed one of biology’s key challenges: predicting the three-dimensional structure of proteins based on their amino acid sequence. This accomplishment led to Hassabis being jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024. As a commemorative gesture, he presented President Lee with a Go board signed by both himself and Lee Se-dol, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their match.

      Hassabis also expressed a desire to enhance collaboration with significant Korean firms, including Samsung, SK Hynix, Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics, and LG, to initiate new joint projects. These four companies represent the full spectrum of Korea’s technology sector: Samsung and SK Hynix in semiconductors and memory (essential for AI infrastructure), Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics in physical AI and robotics, and LG in consumer and enterprise electronics.

      The campus, along with these industrial partnerships, indicates that Google is positioning Korea as not just a market for its AI products but as a pivotal node in its global AI development and hardware supply chain. This announcement aligns with a broader trend of major technology companies seeking government-backed AI campus arrangements in Asia-Pacific democracies. Microsoft's A$25 billion investment in Australia includes similar elements: an MOU with the national government, infrastructure expansion linked to a national AI strategy, and commitments to skills training.

      The Seoul AI campus adds South Korea to a roster of countries, including Australia, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, where Google DeepMind and similar organizations are entrenching their AI development presence at the government-partnership level rather than solely through commercial market entry. Hassabis noted that countries like Korea, the UK, and Singapore urgently need to collaborate on creating a broader framework for AI safety, highlighting the campus as part of a responsible AI agenda alongside its commercial and research aspects.