KB Financial Group said on Thursday it will take part as the main sponsor of RoboCup 2026 Incheon, the world's largest international competition in artificial intelligence and robotics, to be held at Songdo Convensia in Incheon from June 30 to July 6.

RoboCup is a global technology competition in which robotics engineers and research institutions from around the world compete in technical capability and creativity. It began in Nagoya, Japan in 1997 and has since grown into the world's largest international AI and robotics competition, with some 40 countries now taking part.

The event, to be held in South Korea for the first time, will run 19 competitions across five divisions including robot soccer, disaster rescue, home services, industry and a youth league. Global research institutions and companies will compete, and an exhibition and an academic symposium are also scheduled.

The key event, robot soccer, aims to develop an AI humanoid robot team capable of matching the performance of the human World Cup-winning team by 2050. KB Financial plans to use the sponsorship to expand its support beyond traditional sports into AI sports and physical robotics, and to strengthen cooperation with the Korea AI and Robot Industry Association.

It also plans to roll out education and support programmes step by step, including AI and robotics competitions for youths and university students.

A KB Financial official said, "In an era when artificial intelligence is redefining not only industry but also sports, KB Financial aims to lead next-generation sports and technological innovation through main sponsorship of RoboCup." The official added, "We will go beyond simple sponsorship to become a financial partner that contributes to nurturing future AI talent and expanding the robotics technology ecosystem."