Multimodal Model Trained on Both Language and Images
Enhancing Expertise and Reliability to Strengthen Competitiveness Against Other Companies
Conducting Some B2C Business Mainly Focused on B2B
"Aiming to Become a Top 1% AI Development Company"
LG, which has identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a future growth engine, unveiled 'Exaone 2.0' to materialize that vision. Unlike language-based generative AI, it introduced a multimodal AI proficient in both language and images. Through the highly specialized and reliable Exaone 2.0, LG plans to attempt business differentiation, increase commercialization cases in various fields, and expand revenue streams centered on the enterprise market (B2B).
On the 19th, LG AI Research held the 'LG AI Talk Concert 2023' at the Convergence Hall of LG Science Park in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, unveiling the ultra-large multimodal AI 'Exaone 2.0.' Multimodal AI refers to AI that learns in the same diverse ways humans perceive objects. Exaone 2.0 enhanced its performance by introducing a bidirectional multimodal model capable of generating both language and images, in addition to the large language model (LMM) used in generative AI. It also reduced the cost of implementing functions compared to the previous model introduced in December 2021.
On the 19th, at LG Science Park in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Bae Gyeonghun, head of LG AI Research Institute, unveiled the super-large multimodal AI 'EXAONE 2.0' at the 'LG AI Talk Concert 2023'. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@
Unprecedented Training Volume... Answers Include Professional Literature
At the event, LG AI Research demonstrated Exaone 2.0, composed of three major platforms: ▲Universe ▲Discovery ▲Atelier, showcasing its service competitiveness. It was explained that approximately 45 million professional documents such as patents and papers, and 350 million images were trained to enhance expertise and reliability. Lee Hwayoung, head of LG AI Research unit, stated, "45,000 documents represent one of the largest volumes globally."
Exaone Universe is a generative AI expert conversational platform. Its differentiation from other services lies in generating inferred answers by finding evidence not only from pre-trained data but also from the latest domain-specific professional data. When asked during the demonstration whether 'AI will replace human labor' and 'why generative AI is necessary,' Exaone Universe produced multiple pages of answers within seconds, providing not only simple explanations but also related professional literature.
Exaone Discovery is a knowledge exploration platform usable in fields such as chemistry and bio. It can read and learn not only professional document texts like papers and patents but also non-text information such as molecular structures, formulas, and images. The company claims its deep document understanding technology is world-class. Using Exaone Discovery can reduce the research and development (R&D) time for finding candidate materials in eco-friendly battery development from 40 months to 5 months.
Exaone Atelier is a multimodal AI platform used to express images in language and visualize language as images. It can assist human creative ideas and improve work efficiency. In an actual demonstration, after inputting just one product image and the request 'Generate marketing phrases for product advertising,' it immediately suggested several advertising phrases consisting of three to four lines. It also features captioning AI that aids image search.
On the 19th, at LG Science Park in Magok, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Bae Gyeong-hoon, head of LG AI Research Institute, unveiled the super-large multimodal AI 'EXAONE 2.0' at the 'LG AI Talk Concert 2023'. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Seeking Business Opportunities Centered on B2B... "We Will Develop AI for the Top 1% Experts"
LG AI Research announced plans to differentiate Exaone 2.0 and expand revenue streams. Baek Byunghoon, head of LG AI Research, said, "Meta announced LLaMA 2 (LMM) just this dawn," adding, "As LMM announcements continue worldwide, competition will accelerate." He emphasized, "In times like these, creating differentiation is crucial," and predicted, "Since there has never been a large-scale introduction of successful cases where generative AI was applied in actual industrial sites, we will strive toward that."
Close cooperation with affiliates and partners is essential to root Exaone 2.0 across industries. LG AI Research is collaborating with LG Group affiliates such as LG Electronics, LG Uplus, and LG CNS to develop business models. In this process, LG Electronics has adopted Exaone to enhance its AI Contact Center (AICC). They are exploring various approaches, including direct commercialization by AI Research or affiliates attempting commercialization using Exaone provided by AI Research.
External business opportunities are also sought through partnerships. This year, LG AI Research signed commercialization contracts with the world's largest image trading platform 'Shutterstock' and the leading scientific publishing market player 'Elsevier.' The company explained that if Shutterstock's customer base uses Exaone, profitability could significantly increase within a few years. This month, they also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office to develop expert AI applicable in administrative patent fields through Exaone Universe, marking a world-first case.
Some B2C business is also possible with Exaone Universe and Exaone Atelier. For example, using Exaone Atelier, hashtags can be automatically added to images posted on social media. B2C business may be conducted through affiliates operating in the B2C domain.
On the 19th, research leaders from LG AI Research are engaging in a Q&A session with reporters at the LG AI Talk Concert held at the Convergence Hall of LG Science Park in Magok, Seoul. / Starting on the 31st, LG AI Research will first open Exaone Universe to AI researchers within the group and partner universities, followed by an official service launch in September. Specialized services tailored to professional domains such as chemistry, bio, and pharmaceuticals are planned. In the fourth quarter, Exaone Discovery service will begin for researchers in chemistry and bio fields within the group, aiming to innovate R&D related to new materials, substances, and drugs. Prior to that, in the third quarter, Exaone Atelier service will be provided to professional designers both inside and outside the group.
Head Baek said, "Currently, we are focusing on creating cases in actual industrial sites centered on B2B affiliates and professional partners," adding, "It is important to create successful cases, prove their results, and then have customers use them directly to generate meaningful outcomes." He also added, "Since it is not yet complete, we will improve shortcomings and leverage strengths to create good cases." He expressed the ambition to "create differentiated customer value from other generative AI and develop AI for the top 1% experts."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
