Meeting with Big Tech CEOs on US Business Trip
SKT Has Already Shifted to AI-Centered Business
Active Collaboration with Global Telecoms and Startups
Choi Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, is further solidifying his commitment to reorganizing the business around artificial intelligence (AI) by consecutively meeting with leaders of major U.S. big tech companies.
While on a business trip in the U.S., Chairman Choi held successive meetings with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, discussing AI technology trends. Accompanying him on this visit were key executives from SK Group’s AI and semiconductor sectors, including Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, and Kim Ju-seon, president of SK Hynix.
Recently, SK Group has been focusing on “selection and concentration” to nurture the AI ecosystem and secure leadership. In particular, SKT is collaborating with leading global telecom companies with the goal of transforming from a telecommunications company into a global AI enterprise.
The most representative collaboration is the “Global Telco AI Alliance,” launched in November last year. This alliance includes global telecom companies such as SKT, Deutsche Telekom, e& (e and), Singtel, and SoftBank. They are jointly developing a telecom-specific large language model (LLM) and cooperating on AI-related business ventures.
Earlier, Chairman Choi personally attended a signing ceremony for establishing AI joint ventures with global telecom companies at MWC 2024 held in Barcelona, Spain, in February.
Yu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, is giving a speech at the 'Global Telco AI Roundtable' event held on the 18th (local time) in Copenhagen, Denmark. [Photo by SKT]
SKT recently announced a $10 million investment in the U.S.-based generative AI search engine startup “Perplexity.” There are also efforts to enhance SKT’s proprietary AI personal assistant service, “A.Dot.” However, partnering with big tech companies leading the generative AI market, such as OpenAI and Microsoft, would place SKT at an advantage in the AI competitiveness race.
Previously, KT, the second-largest telecom company, formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft to strengthen its AI and cloud capabilities. KT CEO Kim Young-seop and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella attended the signing ceremony, pledging to collaborate on AI service development and talent cultivation.
Microsoft is the largest shareholder of OpenAI. Through this partnership, the industry expects KT to effectively integrate ChatGPT functionalities, elevating its AI capabilities to the next level. There is also potential for KT to develop a model competitive with Naver’s self-developed generative AI “HyperCLOVA X,” which involved investments worth trillions of won.
Chairman Choi is solidifying cooperation with big tech not only to advance AI services but also to enhance semiconductor capabilities. During his visit to Microsoft headquarters, he met with CEO Nadella and agreed to strengthen AI-related collaborations, including semiconductors and data centers, between SK Group and Microsoft. It is reported that he also introduced SK Group’s AI and semiconductor competitiveness.
Efforts to increase synergy among affiliates have also begun. SKT and SK C&C have established an AI transformation task force to secure business competitiveness. Meanwhile, SK Group’s key executives will hold a two-day management strategy meeting starting tomorrow (the 28th) to explore ways to secure investment resources in AI and semiconductor sectors.
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