ADB, South Korea launch $20 million AI development fund for Asia-Pacific

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ADB, South Korea AI fund

Highlights

Asian Development Bank and South Korea launched the $20 million K-AID Trust Fund to support AI adoption and capacity building in Asia-Pacific developing economies.
The fund will finance technical assistance, research, AI readiness assessments, infrastructure reviews, and investment preparation in sectors like education, healthcare, and public services.
The initiative targets barriers such as limited computing infrastructure and skills shortages and aligns with ADB's Digital Transformation 2026-2030 strategy.

Fund structure and implementation scope

As reported by Asian Development Bank, citing the Asian Development Bank, the lender and the Republic of Korea have signed an agreement to create the Korea Artificial Intelligence for Development, or K-AID, Trust Fund. The facility is intended to support developing economies in adopting AI, building technological capacity, and preparing workers for a more AI-driven economy.

The fund combines ADB's financing and development expertise with South Korea's technological capabilities. Administered by ADB's Digital Sector Office, it will finance technical assistance, research, and project preparation, including assessments of countries' AI readiness, reviews of their ability to identify and manage risks, identification of infrastructure gaps, testing of applications in key sectors, and preparation of investments for future ADB financing.

ADB President Masato Kanda says artificial intelligence is changing how countries compete and how people live, adding that the partnership aims to deploy the technology safely and responsibly in areas such as classrooms, hospitals, farms, and public services.

Regional barriers and policy relevance

Many economies in Asia and the Pacific face obstacles to wider AI adoption, including limited access to affordable computing power and data infrastructure, shortages of skilled workers, and weak institutions and policy frameworks. The new fund is aimed at helping governments move beyond small pilot projects toward broader use of AI across public systems.

The initiative also includes support for education and skills development to help workers adapt to technological change. For small island developing states and other countries exposed to severe environmental threats, ADB says AI can offer new tools to address urgent challenges.

The program aligns with Digital ADB: An Operational Approach for Digital Transformation 2026-2030, which implements the digital transformation strategy endorsed by ADB's Board of Directors in June 2026.

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