Announcement of 'AI Micro-degree' Program Introduction
First Unveiling of AI Assistants 'Researcher' and 'Analyst'
Discussion of Collaboration with Korean Startups Using Azure Platform
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MS), attended the 'MS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tour in Seoul' held on the 26th at the aT Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul, as a keynote speaker and introduced collaboration cases with domestic companies. Photo by Yujin Park
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft (MS), attended the 'MS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tour in Seoul' held at aT Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 26th, and stated, "The combination of Korea's human capital and AI capabilities will lead to a prosperous future economy," announcing plans to introduce AI education programs domestically.
In his keynote speech that afternoon, Nadella emphasized that they will promote a nationwide 'AI Skilling Initiative' in collaboration with KT and "introduce an ‘AI Micro-degree’ program." This plan aims to expand the scope of education to all citizens interested in AI to improve Korea's 'AI literacy' level.
On the same day, Nadella also unveiled the latest AI model agents (assistants) applying inference models for the first time worldwide. He said, "I am truly excited and pleased to announce the launch of new agents today," introducing the new AI assistants 'Researcher' and 'Analyst.' Researcher integrates OpenAI's o3 inference research model with Copilot's combination and deep search functions to perform complex analytical tasks such as new market strategies and customer research for quarterly meetings. Analyst derives key business insights by analyzing diverse distributed data based on the chain-of-thought reasoning ability of the latest inference models, including demand forecasting for new products, consumer purchasing pattern analysis, and sales data trend identification.
He also mentioned that GitHub, an AI-based developer platform acquired by Microsoft in 2018, has grown by about 20% in Korea, currently used by 2.25 million Korean developers. He said, "It is amazing to see the growth momentum of GitHub in Korea," adding, "It is increasing at an incredible pace every year, which is very promising."
Nadella stated that Microsoft is actively expanding cooperation with domestic companies. Introducing cases where Korean companies such as GS Retail and Amorepacific are actively utilizing Microsoft's AI solutions, he evaluated, "It is impressive how companies are using Copilot to improve productivity and innovate customer experience." In particular, Microsoft and KT are jointly developing 'Korean-style AI' aiming for commercialization in the second quarter of this year. Korean-style AI refers to AI that has learned Korea's history, philosophy, and society based on an understanding of Korean ways of thinking and emotions.
The day before, KT held the ‘AX Leader Summit’ together with Microsoft, meeting with major corporate leaders leading the AX (AI Transformation) trend in various industries. Attendees included Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO Group; Kang Seok-hoon, Chairman of Korea Development Bank; Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of Shinhan Financial Group; Jung Ki-sun, Senior Vice Chairman of HD Hyundai; Kim Yoo-yeol, President of EBS; and Song Chang-hyun, President of Hyundai Motor Group. They discussed ways to create synergy in AI and cloud sectors through collaboration across different industries.
During a private meeting with domestic startups held that morning, discussions were held on cooperation plans with promising Korean AI startups such as Galaxy Corporation, Lytton Technologies, Upstage, Liner, and Qanda. These startups reportedly discussed collaboration using Microsoft's Azure platform.
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