4,000 App Downloads Immediately After Launch
AI Cumulative Investment Expected to Reach 2-3 Trillion Won by 2028
CEO Hwang Emphasizes "Customer-Centric Thinking Is Important"
LG Uplus has officially begun its transformation into an AX (AI Transformation) company with the launch of its AI call agent ‘ixi-O’. The company also announced plans to invest 400 billion to 500 billion KRW annually in AI technology.
Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, is announcing the launch of the AI call agent ixi-O and the strategy to grow into an AX company at the headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 7th. Photo by Heo Young-han
On the 7th, Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, held a press conference at the Yongsan headquarters and revealed strategies for growing into an AX company, stating, "ixi-O will create unique value in the core telephony area of telecommunications companies."
ixi-O offers features such as ▲answering calls on behalf of users ▲visible calls ▲real-time voice phishing detection ▲call recording and summarization in an on-device AI environment. The answering calls feature allows AI to answer calls and continue conversations with the caller when the user is unable to pick up. The AI talks with the caller and stores the conversation content.
The visible calls feature converts call content into text in real time and displays it on the smartphone screen. This allows users to view the screen and communicate in noisy environments such as concert halls or subways where it is difficult to hear the other party’s voice clearly.
The real-time voice phishing detection function analyzes call content with AI and warns users to end the call if a voice phishing risk is detected. Since it detects voice phishing based on call content rather than phone numbers registered as spam, it is expected to enable more precise phishing detection. CTO Lee Sang-yeop explained, "We have also developed deep voice detection technology that identifies AI mimicking other people’s voices."
Call recording and summarization are features already offered in some services. However, ixi-O has a security advantage because actual voice data does not pass through servers. Most of ixi-O’s features are implemented in an on-device environment where data is processed within the device itself, which is a distinctive characteristic.
Currently, ixi-O is available on Apple iPhone models from the iPhone 14 series onward. CEO Hwang said, "About 4,000 customers have already downloaded the ixi-O application," and added, "We aim to reach 1 million users within a year." The Android version of the ixi-O app is planned for release in the first quarter of next year.
Regarding expanding the ixi-O service to subscribers of other telecom companies beyond LG Uplus customers, CTO Lee Sang-yeop said, "We plan to first provide sufficient customer value and improve completeness for our own customers, then open the service to other companies’ customers."
CEO Hwang emphasized that the company will showcase advanced AI technology not just for show but as a service that delivers tangible experiences and value that customers can feel. He said, "We will invest about 400 billion to 500 billion KRW annually in AI technology," and added, "By 2028, the cumulative investment is expected to reach 2 to 3 trillion KRW."
He continued, "Customers do not want AI technology itself but AX services that they can use well in daily life and that transform their lives. Creating services that provide direct value to customers is LG Uplus’s approach to AI." He also explained, "This year, we have focused all our capabilities on innovation based on generative AI, and we are releasing the results one by one to the world."
Earlier, in June, LG Uplus developed ‘ixiGen,’ a lightweight generative AI optimized for telecommunications, based on ‘ExaOne,’ a generative AI from LG AI Research Institute. They also introduced ‘ixi Solution,’ an AI development platform created in collaboration with LG AI Research Institute. ixi Solution is a platform that allows enterprise customers to update and manage AI services in a customized manner. Additionally, LG Uplus is pursuing a multi-large language model (LLM) strategy based on cooperation with various big tech companies, providing optimal solutions.
CEO Hwang said, "The more we focus on AX, the more we realize that the customer itself, not technology, is important," and added, "It is crucial to have a customer-centric mindset that understands what customers want and quickly reflects it."
LG Uplus plans to build an AI agent ecosystem centered on ixi-O in the enterprise service (B2C) sector. The strategy is to connect customers’ daily lives through various AI agent services. CEO Hwang outlined a vision, saying, "We will create useful agent services for customers and utilize the new data and values generated as these services connect, so that all aspects of customers’ daily lives are seamlessly linked."
LG Uplus is developing differentiated services in collaboration with Google. Vice President Jung Soo-heon predicted, "ixi-O will be launched as a mobile-based service, but as AI agents expand into the home domain in the future, it will be available to customers of other companies as well, increasing the number of users."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
