Jeonnam Pavilion showcases 12 Korean AI innovators at CES 2026

This Jeonnam Pavilion push at CES 2026 is a snapshot of how aggressively Korean regions are trying to position themselves inside the global AI supply chain, rather than just consuming foreign models and chips. The portfolio spans edge AI for disaster detection, XR environments, AI‑optimized drone operations, and AI‑driven education kits, alongside battery safety and beauty‑tech devices. That breadth matters: it shows AI being baked into physical infrastructure, consumer products, and public‑safety systems, not just software platforms. ([prnewswire.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jeonnam-pavilion-opens-at-ces-2026-12-innovative-technologies-leading-global-market-innovation-302651736.html?utm_source=openai))

Strategically, Jeollanam‑do is using CES to brand itself as an “AI and Mobility Convergence City,” tied to national assets like Samsung SDS’s AI computing center and an “artificial sun” research facility. That’s effectively a regional industrial policy: concentrate compute, talent and power infrastructure, then use trade shows as the deal‑making front end. For the race to AGI, what matters is that more jurisdictions are building their own mini‑AI ecosystems with local champions and RE100‑aligned industrial parks, which helps diversify who controls applied AI and the data it runs on.

Competitive implications are subtle but real. These companies are not direct rivals to OpenAI or Google DeepMind; instead they’re building AI‑enhanced capabilities in safety, education and mobility that can be exported globally. That increases the number of specialized players who can absorb and commercialize frontier models, potentially speeding diffusion of advanced capabilities once AGI‑class systems exist.