SK Telecom triples investment in AI

South Korean carrier SK Telecom will triple its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) over the next five years to improve services and generate 25 trillion won in revenue by 2028.

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young Sang presents the 'AI Pyramid' strategy at a press conference on September 26 at the headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Speaking at a press conference in Seoul on September 26, SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young Sang said that the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution sparked by ChatGPT has been met with some skepticism recently. However, the AI market is still in its infancy. Looking at how the industry is moving and how technology is developing, he believes the race between AI companies is just beginning.

CEO Ryu believes that SK Telecom’s increased focus on AI will lead to better market valuation. Over the past five years, the Korean carrier has increased its investment in AI services, technology, and infrastructure. From 12% of its capital spent on AI, the company wants to increase it to 33% and increase sales to 25 trillion won by 2028.

Sharing about SK Telecom’s AI business strategy, Mr. Ryu said that he will deploy the “AI Pyramid” to transform operations around three areas: AI infrastructure, AI transformation (AIX), and AI services. Through steps such as upgrading its own AI capabilities, creating AI services to provide better services to customers, as well as collaborating with other AI partners, SK Telecom will become a truly global AI company.

According to the head of SK Telecom, the AI Pyramid strategy will create new value through AI in existing businesses, not eliminate the old. At the base of the pyramid, or AI infrastructure, the company will promote the expansion of AI data centers, AI semiconductors, and large language models. He revealed that the latest AI chip X330 from Sapeon - a chip company under SK Telecom - will be launched later this year and compete with Nvidia.

SK Telecom also introduced the AX large language model. The company also collaborated with other domestic and foreign AI players such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Konan Technology.

With AIX - the middle part of the AI pyramid, SK Telecom will transform productivity and customer experience by embedding AI into core businesses, expanding AI capabilities to mobile, AI healthcare, media and advertising. With AI services - the top of the pyramid, the company plans to provide AI personal assistants to users.

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