Source: Ars Technica
South Korea is doubling down on memory semiconductors and robotics manufacturing, pairing direct state capital with industry in a move designed to compete with Chinese commodity chip advances and US AI infrastructure spending. This is capital deployment at scale to lock supply chains rather than basic R&D. The humanoid robot component signals Seoul views service robotics as the next arena where semiconductor advantage converts to manufacturing edge. The trillion-dollar commitment also shows how governments now directly fund technology arms races—moving past subsidies into co-invested megaprojects that bind national economic strategy to corporate roadmaps.