[AI Revolution](107) Saltlux Challenges Google with AI Search 'Gubeo'

Interview with Lee Kyung-il, CEO of Saltlux
Old version based on Lucia2, simultaneous launch in Korea and the US
From personalized content recommendations to report writing
"Achieving 1 trillion KRW valuation by gathering 100 million users"

"As AI company Perplexity is causing a sensation in the search market, we aim to become a killer service that surpasses Google with our AI search engine 'Goover.'

Domestic AI company Saltlux is challenging Google's dominance with 'Goover.' Like Perplexity, which has emerged as an alternative to Google Search, Saltlux plans to compete in the fiercely contested US market for AI services. Perplexity is a startup founded by former Google and OpenAI employees. It gained attention as an AI search engine and received about 100 billion KRW in investment last January from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, NVIDIA, and others.

'Goover' is based on Saltlux's proprietary AI model 'Lucia2.' It has roughly doubled the training data compared to 'Lucia1' and improved the accuracy of responses related to expert knowledge. Based on this, 'Goover' acts as a personalized assistant for users. Like other AI search engines, it provides comprehensive information when a question is entered. It learns user interests through search keywords and uploaded documents, then curates optimized information. It also automatically generates in-depth reports and provides briefings. It automates search, summarization, organization, and document creation. Saltlux plans to launch Goover this month in the US and Korea. Lee Kyung-il, CEO of Saltlux, said, "AI observes and investigates on its own to provide personalized services," adding, "We will take on a direct challenge in the US, where AI search is rising."

AI Revolution - Lee Kyung-il, CEO of Saltlux, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the office in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

To launch Goover, CEO Lee invested about 40 billion KRW over the past three years. He established a subsidiary, Goover, in Silicon Valley, USA, focusing on service development. This was supported by Saltlux's existing business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) operations. With various businesses such as data collection and analysis, large language model (LLM) construction, AI chatbot services, and meta-human production, Saltlux achieved its highest-ever revenue last year at 30.7 billion KRW. Although the investment scale led to operating losses over the past three years, a turnaround in performance is expected this year. CEO Lee stated, "The scale of business orders has already exceeded 50 billion KRW this year," adding, "We will surpass 60 billion KRW in annual sales and increase operating profit."

Companies are turning to Saltlux in the generative AI era because of its solid track record. Since its founding in 2000, it has accumulated technical know-how and vast data. It has secured nearly 400 AI development personnel. Through this, it serves over 2,000 domestic and international institutions and companies, including public organizations such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; financial institutions like KB Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank; and overseas companies such as ANA Airlines and Mizuho Bank. Its business portfolio is diverse. From its proprietary AI model 'Lucia' to the AI appliance 'Lucia On' equipped with it, Saltlux has a full AI stack covering both software (SW) and hardware (HW). 'Lucia On' connects hardware such as graphics processing units (GPUs), enabling generative AI solutions to be applied simply by powering it on. CEO Lee emphasized, "We will expand into the business-to-consumer (B2C) market to become an AI company that accompanies the daily lives of 100 million people," adding, "We aim to grow our corporate value to 1 trillion KRW within three years."